In a shocking incident in China, a man narrowly escaped being cremated alive after mortuary workers spotted his body moving inside the body bag.

The incident took place on May 1. A clip of the incident that went viral shows mortuary workers in protective clothing appearing to pull the bodybag out of a van and onto a trolley, where they quickly realise that the man is, shockingly, still alive. 
“Alive! Did you see that? Alive!,” one of the mortuary workers is heard saying. “Do not cover him again!” replies the other.

Also Read: Work from home returns to Beijing as subway stations shut amid Covid surge

One worker then walks over to other members of staff, as the elderly patient – who was a resident at the Shanghai Xinchangzheng Nursing Home – is wheeled back inside.

The person filming the incident called it a ‘disgrace for human life’. The Shanghai Supervisory Commission and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said that five officials, including the director of the care home and a doctor, had vacated their roles and are being put under investigation. Another local party official was reprimanded in relation to the incident, reported Times Now. 

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Xinchangzheng Nursing Home has apologised for the incident. According to The Guardian, the funeral home reportedly praised its employees for noticing that the person was still alive, and rewarded them with 5,000 yuan each.

Tough COVID restrictions in Shanghai, a city with a population of  more 26 million, has sparked rare public anger. The lockdown  has been plagued problems, including food shortages and delivery problems, and prompted protests both online and in people’s homes and streets.  

In China’s capital Beijing,  while authorities have avoided imposing a lockdown, they are focusing on frequent testing of millions of people in at least a dozen districts and other strict measures. Dozens of subways were closed on Wednesday in the city to contain the spread of the virus.