No. 26 was in worse condition, the decomposition further along but still not enough to obscure the scarlet bruising on the shriveling skin of his forehead.

In experiments, the new coating was 10 times more resistant to decomposition compared to conventional ammonium-based coatings.

"Recovery, identification and transfer operations are being made extremely delicate by the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies," the statement said.

She added that the bodies are in various states of decomposition, with some slightly underground and others not.

This is because it does not easily undergo bacterial decomposition.