Black smoke billows from crematorium

A Sydenham Crematorium owner is apologising this morning after a cremation went wrong.

John Guthrey opened the crematorium four months ago amid much protest from the local Christchurch business community.

Yesterday smelly black smoke spewed from the chimney when the cremation of a large 230 kilogram body began.

John Guthrey says it was the chipboard from the coffin that caused the five minute smell and smoke, and he apologises for that.

"If it had gone on for some time, the smoke would be really bad. But we nipped it in the bud, you might say, very quickly and I informed Environment Canterbury."

He says they have the best cremator in the country and were able to stop the smoke almost straight away.

"We've been going four months, and that's the first time that anything like that's happened. I can assure it won't happen again because we're more knowledgeable."

John Guthrey says in future larger bodies will be cremated in the early hours of the morning.

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