More than 30 mourners were injured when the ground floor in a Birmingham house collapsed as they surged forward to see the coffin.
They had gathered yesterday in the property on the corner of Lozells Street and Willis Road, Lozells, for the ceremony when the floor gave way and they plunged 15ft into the basement.
Thirteen people, mainly women, were taken to the City and Sandwell General hospitals with various injuries including a broken leg and broken ribs.
Several "walking wounded" also made their way to casualty to have minor injuries assessed, and paramedics from West Midlands Ambulance Service treated 16 mourners, including two children, at the scene for minor injuries and shock.
Between 40 and 50 family members were congregated around the body of 24 year-old Ibrar-ul-Haq, who died from liver cancer, when the floor buckled just before 1pm, sending the coffin and mourners plunging.
Ibrar's death was the third tragedy to strike the family, which is from the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan and runs a supermarket in Lozells Road. His brothers Ehsan-ul-Haq and Saqib Rehman also died from cancer, 13 years and 21 months ago respectively.
His uncle, Ghazanffar Ali, 35, said there was a surge when the coffin was brought into the room for relatives to pay their final respects.
"There was no warning. One second the floor was there and then it just disappeared from under us all. I just thought to myself, we are here mourning one person and now we will have to mourn some more."
A neighbour, Mohammed Shaban, said: "When I looked down I could see lots of people, mainly women, so I got a wooden ladder from another neighbour and passed that down into the basement to help them get out. I think one woman fractured her ribs and another broke her leg. At least 30 to 40 people had fallen into the basement, it was a horrible sight. Everyone was screaming and crying."
Mr Shaban, a 29-year-old hairdresser, added: "Ibrar had lived in that house all his life and we had grown up together, but like his brothers he died young because he had liver cancer."
Shafique Zaman, a 27-year-old accountant who lives three doors away, said: "I was in the back yard and I heard a loud bang, then I heard screaming. When I got to the front door all I could see was a crowd of people around the front, and there were loads of women screaming and crying."
Three fire crews spent more than 90 minutes rescuing mourners before they conducted a fingertip search to make sure no one was left under the rubble. The fire service mobilised an urban search and rescue team, which included members who had worked in the aftermath of the Pakistan earthquake.
Mark Taylor, spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service, said: "There have been no life-threatening injuries but it could have been a lot worse. We could have had people killed.
"The building was a former corner shop. The floor gave way by sheer weight of numbers. It is a fairly unusual thing to have all these people in a cellar of a house."
The road was sealed off for the rescue operation and later a survey of the property by structural engineers.
Acting Inspector Paul Robb, based at Thornhill Road police station, said: "We suspect the sheer weight of people in that area caused the floorboards to collapse. We are still waiting for the council's structural engineer to give us his assessment of the property. Most, if not all, of these houses were built around the 1870s and so it's not surprising that the floorboards gave way, given their probable age."
Both entrances to the property were sealed off as a safety precaution and the city's structural engineer confirmed the family would be unable to return home "for at least a few days" as it is too dangerous.
