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    SAfrican man wakes after 21 hours in morgue fridge

    JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African man awoke to find himself in a morgue fridge — nearly a day after his family thought he had died, a health official said Monday.

    Health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the man awoke Sunday afternoon, 21 hours after his family called in an undertaker who sent him to the morgue after an asthma attack.

    Morgue owner Ayanda Maqolo said he sent his driver to collect the body shortly after the family reported the death. Maqolo said he thought the man was around 80 years old.

    "When he got there, the driver examined the body, checked his pulse, looked for a heartbeat, but there was nothing," Maqolo told the Associated Press.

    But a day after staff put the body into a locked refrigerated compartment, morgue workers heard someone shouting for help. They thought it was a ghost, the morgue owner said.

    "I couldn't believe it!" Maqolo said. "I was also scared. But they are my employees and I had to show them I wasn't scared, so I called the police."

    After police arrived, the group entered the morgue together.

    "I was glad they had their firearms, in case something wanted to fight with us," Maqolo said.

    He said the man was pale when they pulled him out.

    "He asked, 'How did I get here?'" Maqolo said.

    The health department said the man was then taken to a nearby hospital for observation and later discharged by doctors who deemed him stable.

    Kupelo, the health department spokesman, urged South Africans to call on health officials to confirm that their relatives are really dead.

    The man's family was informed that he was alive during a family meeting convened to make funeral arrangements. They're very happy to have him home, Maqolo said.

    But Maqolo said he is still trying to recover from the traumatic experience.

    "I couldn't sleep last night, I had nightmares," he said. "But today I'm much better."

     

    856 comments

    • Lorie  •  10 mths ago
      Good thing he didn't wake up in the middle of the autopsy. THAT would have sucked.
      • Mutt 10 mths ago
        He would have started to bleed if they cut into him and then it would alert them he was alive (you don't bleed if you are dead)
      • Eric 10 mths ago
        Autopsies aren't usually performed unless a crime is suspected.
      • Wesley C 10 mths ago
        Wow, that is interesting, didn't know that you don't bleed if you are dead.
    • Dan  •  10 mths ago
      lucky he was put in a refrigerator not an incenerator
    • bring_on_2012  •  10 mths ago
      "I had to show them I wasn't scared, so I called the police...."
      • M. Reed 10 mths ago
        rat
      • First 10 mths ago
        I laughed so hard when he said he called the police! That's like hanging with your girlfriend and screaming for your mom to kill this spider... You know? Because you want to show your girl you're not scared! ;)
      • Bea 10 mths ago
        that got me too...lol
    • Christi C  •  10 mths ago
      Wonder how many people have really died this way, from accidental burial or burned alive in cremation? Can you imagine how horrible that would be to die from your funeral? Watched a movie like that once and it got me to thinking.
      • M. Reed 10 mths ago
        you idiot dope,go to bed.
      • Bea 10 mths ago
        So true.....
      • Norma 10 mths ago
        I watched this movie one time and it was so tramatic. They had stole this girl for ransome. To they could keep her quite, they buried her undergroud with a flashlight and a small amount of food. There was a pipe from the hole so she could breathe. Eventually the flashlight went out due to the batteries. I have told my kids, the are to make very sure I am dead before anything is done with me....That movie woke me up......Michael it's past your bedtime....Thank you for your comment.
    • Neil S  •  10 mths ago
      I guess he had extended warranty!!!!!
      • M. Reed 10 mths ago
        ya,ya extended warranty,ya ya,da,da
      • Bea 10 mths ago
        lol
      • Flying High 10 mths ago
        I didn't know they had ice in Africa!!!!
    • sonic  •  10 mths ago
      hahaha...the guy was happy they had guns to fight the ghost!!!!! HAHAHAAH!!!
    • RT  •  10 mths ago
      This shouldn't be funny. Buuuuttttt it really is. lmao
      • M. Reed 10 mths ago
        ya,not funny.da,da.idiot
      • RT 10 mths ago
        Michael Reed did you know your mother partially aborted you.
      • Flying High 10 mths ago
        Michael reed, too bad she didn't finish the job. She must be as dumb as you are
    • Jane S  •  10 mths ago
      "I had to show my employees I wasn't scared so I called the police." Wow, this guy deserves a medal. Can you imagine how much courage it takes to pick up the phone and scream "help me help me there's a ghost in here!"
    • candace b  •  9 mths ago
      I cannot believe that the workers thought it was a ghost and ran from the building. The the police were going to shoot the ghost? Stupid!!
    • Angus  •  10 mths ago
      It just so happened that he was only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.
    • Austin  •  10 mths ago
      "I was glad they had their firearms, in case something wanted to fight with us,"
      They intended to shoot a ghost? Good luck.
    • Homunculus  •  10 mths ago
      Maqolo was scared. They all though it was a ghost. But he nutted up for his employees. couldnt let them see him be scared. So he called the cops. And Maqolo was glad they had guns in case they had to fight the ghost.

      Friggn' Classic.
    • seadog  •  10 mths ago
      Old grandpa sure can power nap ...
    • love1  •  10 mths ago
      I guess it was just his lucky day. They didn't perform an autopsy.
    • Odd Ball  •  10 mths ago
      He died, but he's feeling much better now.
    • DrainFly  •  10 mths ago
      "BRING OUT YA DEAD!...BRING OUT YA DEAD!..."
      Peasant: "Here, I got one for you...[guides elderly father into the undertaker's wagon]"
      Old Man:"But I'm not dead yet!?"
      Undertaker: "Awww, you see--I can't take 'im then. He's got to be dead"
      Peasant:"Well, ummm he hasn't got much longer, he's verrry sick! Yes indeed..."
      Undertaker:"oh, sorry..no deal. i can't"
      Old Man:" Look...you see[prancing up & down], I'm feelin good now, quite a
      bit better"
      You know the rest...RFLMAO
    • DST  •  10 mths ago
      They had their guns just in case a ghost wanted to fight them. Wouldnt a vacum cleaner work a lot better?
    • Beverly  •  10 mths ago
      Let me get this straight...a driver for the morgue was the one who determined whether this man was dead or not? Good plan! Makes you wonder how many 'dead' people this morgue has buried, doesn't it?
    • Captain Marko Ramius  •  10 mths ago
      Your day is off to a bad start when you wake up with a toe tag.
    • Streichmeister  •  10 mths ago
      I've heard of new studies that in the body during a coma or a deathly situation, cells have the choice to either repair itself or self-destruct. What's fascinating is that under cold temps. that they tend to regenerate. Maybe this guy suffered a brain injury which stopped his heart; once he was placed into the "fridge," his cells probably decided to repair themselves. This info is from an anesthesiologist friend I know who is currently conducting research.
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