Spanish soldiers helping to fight the coronavirus pandemic have found elderly patients in retirement homes abandoned and, in some cases, dead in their beds, the defence ministry has said.
Spanish prosecutors said an investigation had been launched.
The military has been brought in to help disinfect care homes in Spain, one of Europe’s worst hit countries.
Meanwhile, an ice rink in Madrid is to be used as a temporary mortuary for Covid-19 victims, officials said.
On Monday Spain recorded its highest daily death toll – 462 – bringing the total to 2,182.
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles told the private TV channel Telecinco that the government was “going to be strict and inflexible when dealing with the way older people are treated” in retirement homes.