A Colorado funeral home that offers green burial services removed 189 decaying bodies, up from 115 reported two weeks ago.

An odour emanating from The Return to Nature funeral home initially alerted authorities.

The scene was described as “horrific” and “hazardous” by an official.

In order to identify the newly discovered bodies, the FBI is assisting.

Penrose Funeral Home, located about 30 miles (48km) south of Colorado Springs, specializes in burials using no chemicals, including embalming fluid, and burials in biodegradable caskets.

We removed dozens of extra human remains on 13 October and transported them to the El Paso County Coroner’s Office. As efforts continue to identify the bodies, the body count may change further.

In addition to investigating this incident, we remain focused on the impacted families, said Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper. Our goal is to provide the families with all the support they need as we move on to the next phase.

115 bodies were discovered on the property of the funeral home in early October, prompting an investigation. Funeral home owner Jon Hallford was accused of concealing “improper storage of human remains” by officials.

As a state, green funerals are allowed, but remains must be buried or properly refrigerated within 24 hours.

The Fremont County Coroner warned previously that identifying the bodies would be a “very lengthy process” because forensic information such as fingerprints and DNA would be needed.