'Dead' Man Kept In Mortuary Freezer For 7 Hours Found Alive Before Autopsy

A "dead" man who was kept inside a hospital mortuary freezer for more than seven hours was found to be alive just before his autopsy.

The shocking incident took place in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Authorities said the man, identified as 40-year-old Sreekesh Kumar, was brought to the hospital Thursday night after he was hit by a speeding vehicle. Doctors at the hospital examined Kumar and declared him dead. The hospital staff took the man to the mortuary and kept him inside a freezer.

However, when his family members came to the mortuary to identify the body just before he was scheduled to be taken for an autopsy, Kumar was found to be alive. The man's sister-in-law, identified as Madhu Bala, spotted that he was moving.

"The emergency medical officer had seen the patient at around 3 a.m. (Friday) and there was no heartbeat. He told me he had examined the man multiple times. Therefore, he was declared dead. In the morning, a police team and his family found him alive. A probe has been ordered and our priority at the moment is to save his life," said Dr. Shiv Singh, Moradabad chief medical superintendent, the Times of India reported.

Singh described Kumar's case as "rarest of the rare," adding that doctors face various difficulties while pronouncing a person dead.

Kumar was moved to another medical facility after he was found alive at the morgue. Doctors said his life is not in danger, but he is yet to regain consciousness. Kumar is in a coma and is undergoing treatment, the Hindustan Times reported.

His family has said they will file a complaint against the doctors at the Moradabad district hospital.

In May, a 76-year-old woman who was declared dead, woke up minutes before her cremation. The incident took place in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The victim, identified as Shakuntala Gaikwad, had tested positive for COVID-19 and was under home isolation. Her symptoms became severe due to her age and her family took her to a hospital. While on the way to the hospital, Gaikwad fell unconscious and the ambulance staff declared her dead.

However, to everyone's shock, the woman woke up when the family members were about to light the funeral pyre.