‘Dead’ premature baby found alive at morgue

Undertakers were shocked to discover a premature baby was actually alive after being called to collect his body for a funeral.

A premature baby born at just 23 weeks survived six hours in a morgue refrigerator after wrongly being declared dead.

Undertakers say they discovered the newborn was breathing after being called to collect his body and hand it over to his parents for the funeral, The Sun reports.

Hospital chiefs have now launched an investigation.

The incredible survival story happened at a hospital called La Margarita in the Mexican city of Puebla.

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The baby was found crying in a hospital morgue despite having been declared dead. Picture: Canal 13

EMOTIONAL REUNION

Footage showing the moment the baby’s father watched over the crying tot and urged him to stay strong and pull through after an emotional reunion is now going viral.

The unnamed baby, said to have been born at 4.29am local time on Wednesday, is understood to have been rescued alive around 10am.

Medics told local press on Thursday the baby was now being kept under observation in an intensive care neonatal unit.

In footage captured immediately after the amazing discovery, the baby’s father can be heard telling his son to “carry on fighting”.

He reassures the tiny infant: “Here I am. Carry on fighting, little one, resist my love.

“The boy’s crying, he’s still crying, he’s alive. Poor boy, carrying on fighting tiny one.

“Please God, accompany this little one, stay with him because he’s still alive.”

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The amazing discovery was made at La Margarita hospital in Puebla, Mexico. Picture: Google Streetview

CRYING AND MOVING

Miguel Angel Flores, owner of undertakers Funeraria Flores, said he was shocked at finding the baby alive when he came to collect the body.

“When we arrived we realised it was crying and moving,” Mr Flores said.

“We called the father over and he also saw it was crying and so we got the doctor who had signed the death certificate to come urgently.

“The baby was born just after 4am and was found alive around 10am so that’s nearly six hours that it was in the morgue refrigerator.

“I can’t understand how he didn’t die while he was there. The fridge it was in is normally used to keep the limbs of amputees. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

The tiny infant was born at 23 weeks. Picture: Canal 13

The IMSS in Puebla, a governmental organisation that forms part of the Mexican healthcare system, confirmed an investigation was underway.

It said in a statement: “In the early hours of Wednesday October 21 a baby was delivered prematurely at 23 weeks.

“It was found to have no vital signs and was pronounced dead and transferred to the hospital morgue area.

“When the body was about to be handed over to a relative, medical staff and a representative of the undertakers realised the baby was alive.

“It received immediate medical attention before being rushed to a neonatal intensive care unit.

“Because it was born so prematurely, it is impossible sadly to predict at this stage how the situation will evolve.

Medics had declared the baby dead before undertakers found the tot crying. Picture: Canal 13

“Hospital authorities have spoken to the baby’s father and they will continue to inform the family about the youngster’s state of health.

“The case is being investigated.”

The scandal sparked fury on social media with one Twitter user branding the hospital “inept.” Another added: “I hope the hospital gets sued.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission