The authorities in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh will contribute over £150 to the funeral of each Covid-19 victim after three separate videos showed JCBs burying multiple bodies in common graves over the past month.

It is unclear why this method was being used but there are reports across India of unclaimed corpses piling up in overwhelmed hospitals and mortuaries, as the number of cases surges past 900,000.

In New Delhi, crematoriums have also run out of space and some residents fear they will contract the deadly Covid-19 while burying their loved ones.

The risk of infection posed by the dead body of a Covid-19 victim is unclear but public health experts believe it to be very low.

On Friday, outraged residents shared footage of a JCB transporting victims’ bodies from an ambulance to a graveyard in its excavator.

The video, which was posted on Twitter, then showed workers clad in personal protective equipment (PPE) dumping three bodies in a pit in the Nellore district.

“Can you imagine your family members being treated this way? As a human I can’t”, wrote one Twitter user.

“Descent into chaos… Unbelievable in this day and age,” echoed another.

The authorities in Nellore have ordered an investigation into the incident but the workers are said to be contracted to the local municipal council.

Two similar incidents occurred in the Srikakulam and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh earlier this month.

The number of cases in the state of Andhra Pradesh crossed 35,000 today, trailing far behind Maharashtra with over 270,000 infections, as India struggles to control the world’s third-biggest Covid-19 outbreak.

However, there has been an 878 percent increase in the number of cases in Andhra Pradesh since India’s nationwide lockdown was lifted on June 1.

The past 24 hours also saw a new record high number of infections of 2,432.