Woman declared dead by care home staff found breathing at funeral home

An 82-year-old woman who was declared dead by authorities at a local nursing home in New York was found breathing three hours later at the funeral home.

The bizarre incident took place on Saturday at Water's Edge Rehab and Nursing Center at Long Island's Port Jefferson.

The woman, whose identity has not been released, was taken to the O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place.

According to Suffolk County police, the woman was taken to the funeral home at 1:30 p.m. and was found breathing at 2:09 p.m.

She was immediately rushed to a local hospital, but no updates on her condition are available right now. The case has now been referred to the state attorney general's office for investigation, per a report in The Guardian.

The incident comes a month after a similar case was reported from a care home in Iowa.

The Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center in Urbandale, Iowa was fined $10,000 (£8,320) after the authorities declared a 66-year-old woman dead even though she was alive.

The woman was placed in a body bag and taken to a funeral home. She was found gasping for air when the staff members unzipped the bag. The woman was taken back to hospice care and died there a day later.

In a similar incident reported from Lebanon, a man was pronounced dead but was found breathing a few seconds before his burial.

The incident took place in the city of Hermel in 2021. The "dead" man was laid in the coffin, and his funeral service was underway when a group of mourners around him saw the coffin move.

The people immediately performed CPR on the man, following which he showed signs of life. An ambulance was called, and he was rushed to receive medical treatment at a hospital.

The incident had gone viral on the Internet. A video shared on Facebook and YouTube showed some people trying to give him CPR as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. His current condition remains unclear.