Man Presumed Dead Wakes Up With Excruciating Pain While Being Embalmed In Mortuary

It has been literally a "to hell and back" experience for a man in Kenya who came back to life while being embalmed in a mortuary.

Peter Kigen, 32, resurrected three hours after he was presumed dead on Thursday. The mortuary attendants were already going into action when they detected some movements in the body they were supposed to preserve.

Kigen, who suffers from a chronic illness, fell unconscious at his home and was taken to Kapkatet Hospital in Kericho County, Kenya. His younger brother, Kevin Kipkurui, said that they rushed him to the hospital at 5:30 p.m. Kipkurui reported that they were asked to fill out the hospital registration form at the reception while a doctor attended to Kigen.

Kipkurui said that around 7:45 p.m., after finishing the registration process, they were informed that Kigen had been dead. "A nurse told me that he died long before we arrived at the hospital," Kipkurui said as per The Standard.

Kigen's body was then taken to the hospital's morgue for embalming. An attendant reportedly made an incision on Kigen's right leg, where formalin was supposed to be injected. However, the attendants were shocked when the man suddenly woke up and screamed in excruciating pain.

At around 10:30 p.m. Kigen's family was informed that he was still alive. "The mortician called me into the morgue and we saw him make movements. We were shocked. We could not understand how they could move a person who is still alive into the mortuary," Kipkurui said.

Kigen was later transferred to the hospital ward. He told reporters that he was happy to be alive and vowed to dedicate his life to evangelism. "I did not even know where I was when I regained consciousness, but I thank God for sparing my life. I will serve him for the rest of my life," he said.

Kigen's uncle, Denis Langat, accused that the staff had only "casually checked" Kigen before pronouncing him dead, reported local news outlet Citizen Digital. Kigen's family demanded justice and accused the hospital of negligence.

The hospital's medical superintendent, Gilbert Cheruiyot, claimed that the patient was already in critical condition when he was brought to the hospital. He also explained that it was Kigen's relatives who decided to take him to the mortuary. "His relatives presumed he was dead and did not even wait for certification of death. They moved him to the mortuary, on their own," Dr. Cheruiyot said.