This terrible footage shows the extent of COVID-19 damage in India.

Hundreds of bodies, believed to be victims of the virus, are seen partially exposed in sand graves on the banks of the Ganges River.

Gravediggers at the site said that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of bodies arriving for burials and cremations since April.

Teams of police and local officials have been patrolling several areas along the river in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to discourage burials on the site, and to warn people of possible infection risks.

This footage was filmed and produced 20 May 2021.

Bodies, some of which are believed to be Covid-19 victims, are seen partially exposed in shallow sand graves after rains washed away the top layer of sand at a cremation ground on the banks of the Ganges River on May 20, 2021 in Shringverpur, northwest of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Gravediggers at the site said that there was a threefold increase in the number of bodies arriving for burials and cremations since April. Teams of police and local officials have been patrolling several areas along the river in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to discourage burials on its banks, and to warn people of possible infection risks, local media reported. India's prolonged and debilitating wave of Covid-19 infections has reached deep into rural India, where the true extent of devastation may never be known because of a lack of widespread testing or reliable data.