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Morgue owner Ayanda Maqolo tells the story of how a routine call to collect a “dead” body ended up in the most surreal situation he’d perhaps ever experienced. When he got to the “dead” man’s home, Mr Maqolo got his driver to examine the body, check his pulse and look for a heartbeat.

All was as expected so the trip back to the morgue began in earnest with the dead man on board and wailing family members left behind to mourne.

This is where the story takes a rather surreal turn:

But a day after staff put the body into a locked refrigerated compartment, “two morgue workers heard screaming from the refrigerators,”

“They thought it was a ghost and they ran for their lives.”

“I couldn’t believe it!” Maqolo said. “I was also scared. But they are my employees and I had to show them I wasn’t scared, so I called the police.”

After police arrived, the group entered the morgue together.

“I was glad they had their firearms, in case something wanted to fight with us,”

He said the man was pale when they pulled him out.

“He asked, ‘How did I get here?’” Maqolo said.

“I couldn’t sleep last night, I had nightmares, but today I’m much better.” – AP

Fortunately the “dead” man did not turn up at his home unannounced. The family was told he was still alive during a family meeting to arrange his funeral. Moral of this story? Don’t have drivers certify the death of people. It later transpired that the man had merely lost consciousness after an asthma attack.