Grandpa Wakes Up Screaming in Morgue

Needless to say, the South African man was not actually dead
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 25, 2011 11:00 AM CDT
Grandpa Wakes Up Screaming in Morgue
A man is fine after waking up in a morgue after 21 hours.   (Shutterstock)

A South African grandfather is apparently just fine after spending 21 hours inside a morgue—but we're guessing family dinners are going to be awkward for a while. His family assumed he was dead when they were unable to wake him up, and called for an undertaker. But he later awoke "and screamed, demanding to be taken out of the cold place," says a health official. The man suffered only from dehydration, and was released from the hospital a day later after doctors concluded he was stable, the Times reports.

"At first, the mortuary workers ran for their lives," thinking they were hearing a ghost, the official adds. "We need to get the message across to all South Africans that it is very wrong for them to conclude on their own that a person has died. You begin to you ask yourself, how many other people have died like that in a morgue?" The proper process? Call an ambulance or police. (Click for a similar, but less happy, story from Russia.)

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