An Indian man was almost early to his own funeral after being placed on a pyre following an epileptic fit before doctors had even checked to see if he was dead.
Rohitash Kumar, 25, who had speaking and hearing difficulties, had fallen sick and was taken to a hospital in Jhunjhunu in the western state of Rajasthan, India, on Thursday, the AFP news service reported.
Doctors performed CPR, but saw his heart rate flatline on an electrocardiogram. He was then declared dead on arrival at hospital.
But rather than undergoing a post-mortem to confirm the cause of death, doctors at the Bhagwan Das Khetan (BDK) district hospital sent him straight to the mortuary.
From there, he was placed on a funeral pyre to be burned according to Hindu rites.
But it was only moments before the pyre was to be lit that witnesses noticed that he was moving and he was saved from an untimely death.
‘The situation was nothing short of a miracle. We all were in shock. He was declared dead, but there he was, breathing and alive,’ a witness at the crematorium told ETV Bharat.
The Times of India reports that an initial investigation found doctors had reported Mr Kumar died of ‘respiratory failure due to lung disease like COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease’.
Rohitash Kumar, 25, was saved from a funeral pyre at the last minute when crematorium staff noticed he was moving (stock image)
An initial investigation has found doctors did not carry out a post-mortem after Mr Kumar apparently died
D. Singh, chief medical officer of the Jhunjhunu district hospital, told AFP a doctor had ‘prepared the postmortem report without actually doing the postmortem, and the body was then sent for cremation’.
This was corroborated by Ramavatar Meena, the district collector for Jhunjhunu, who told the Times of India the post-mortem was done in ‘papers only’.
Three doctors, named in local media as BDK chief medical officer Dr Sandeep Pachar, community health medical officer Dr Yogesh Kumar Jakhar and hospital medical officer Dr Navneet Meel, were suspended amid negligence allegations.
Mr Kumar had been staying at Maa Sewa Sansthan, a care home for those with additional needs.
After he was saved from the funeral pyre, Mr Kumar was returned to BDK’s intensive care unit, but condition did not improve.
Efforts were made to transport him to Sawai Man Singh hospital in Jaipur more than 100 miles away for further treatment.
However, he ultimately died en route to the hospital and was declared dead on arrival – this time, without mistake.
District collector Meena added: ‘This is serious negligence. Action will be taken against those responsible.
‘The working style of the doctors will also be thoroughly investigated.’