Poland’s chief rabbi has said he has been left speechless after human remains were left in piles of earth during work to lay new power cables next to an old Jewish cemetery.

The incident took place in Siemiatycze, a town in eastern Poland that was once home to over 4,000 Jews before the Holocaust.

“There are no words to describe how this is possible today in a free, democratic Poland,” said Rabbi Michael Schudrich, adding that it was “the worst desecration of a Jewish cemetery” that he has seen since assuming his post 17 years ago.

Piotr Siniakowicz, the town’s mayor, described Rabbi Schudrich’s words as “too strong” and stressed that the town took care of the Jewish cemetery. The town’s council also said it was eager to work with the Jewish community to resolve the situation.

All work on the site, which is privately owned and lies adjacent to the cemetery, has now stopped, and prosecutors have launched an investigation into whether the company involved in the excavation broke laws prohibiting the violation of human remains. The bones unearthed by the digging have been handed over to a Jewish organisation for re-burial.