Corpse ‘wakes up’ before funeral pyre

An Indian woman narrowly escaped being burned alive after doctors wrongly declared her dead and relatives prepared her funeral pyre.

Grieving family members were about to place 72-year-old Magan Kanwar on the flames yesterday when she suddenly “woke up”.

Female mourners who were bathing the “corpse” in preparation for the traditional send-off noticed she was breathing and the funeral in Jaipur, northwest India, was immediately halted.

Agencies