Posted: 6:59 PM May 16, 2012
Reporter: Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Employees at the state Medical Examiner's Office had to move bodies to refrigeration trucks after the agency's cooler malfunctioned.

Spokeswoman Amy Elliott says workers implemented a contingency plan after an employee who arrived Wednesday noticed the cooling system wasn't working properly.

An alarm that's supposed to sound when the cooler's temperature exceeds 43 degrees broke down. Elliott says decomposition progresses more quickly in temperatures above 43 degrees.

A mortuary service has offered to store some of the bodies.

Elliott says the cooler has been in the building since 1970, and she's unsure if the part needed to repair it will be available.

The Legislature is considering how to fund construction for a new medical examiner building. One proposal would build the office on the University of Central Oklahoma campus.

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