PARIS, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- The bodies of hundreds of the 10,000 people, many of them elderly, who died in France's heat wave reportedly are going unclaimed.
Unclaimed victims whose identities are not known are being buried in unmarked paupers' graves, the BBC reported.
In Paris, where it's estimated 300 to 400 bodies have gone unclaimed, the city has appointed a team of people to track down relatives.
However, Mayor Bertrand Delanoe has admitted some of the victims may have died in isolation and families may never be traced, the BBC said.
The French minister for the elderly, Hubert Falco, confirmed "most probably" some 10,000 people had died.
Last week, French President Jacques Chirac promised: "Everything will be done to correct the insufficiencies that we noted in our health system."
