Man Discovered Alive 18 Days After Funeral

A 92-year-old Portuguese man was found alive 18 days after his supposed funeral and burial services took place.

The man from Milheirós de Poiares, Feira, which is located in northern Portugal, was declared dead by a local hospital in Santa Maria de Feira on January 10, two weeks after being hospitalized due to respiratory problems brought on by a coronavirus infection, Newsweek reports.

The 92-year-old's family was notified of his supposed death by hospital staff and arranged for funeral services to be held two days later, but was reportedly prohibited from seeing the body.

"They called my sister to say that he had passed away. I still tried to see the body to recognize it, but they didn't let me", Aurelino Vieira, who is the man's son, told the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Notícias this week. "I insisted on seeing the body, because something made me suspect that it might not be my father, but they didn't let me and I understood."

Last Saturday, however, the family was informed by the hospital that the 92-year-old's reported death was an "error" and he was still alive, adding that the body buried during his supposed funeral service belonging to another family, who were later informed of the mistake, Jornal de Notícias reports via Newsweek.

Viera said he immediately went to the hospital to visit his father after receiving the news.

"Doctors from the hospital came to talk to me saying that there was an error and that my father was alive, so I could confirm it. They apologized for the error," Viera told Jornal de Notícias. "My father was alive and conscious. I was talking to him and he is lucid."

Viera said he understands how busy hospital employees are during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic even though the accident caused his family to experience understandable emotional damage.

In November, a similar accident occurred in India when a 75-year-old COVID-19 patient was released to his family alive just days after being declared dead by hospital staff.

Photo: Getty Images


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