Indian man who was trapped in freezer for 20 hours after being mistakenly declared dead has now died

• Balasubramaniam Kumar, 74, was kept in a freezer box for 20 hours when undertakers came to collect the body for the funeral and found that he was still moving and gasping for air.
• Mr Kumar was then rescued and admitted to hospital in a drowsy condition and later died of lung failure.
• His family has been booked under Indian Penal Code Section 287 for negligent conduct to endanger human life and Section 336 for an act of endangering life or personal safety of others.

An Indian man rescued from a freezer after being mistakenly declared dead has now died.

Balasubramaniam Kumar, 74, from Kandhampatti, Tamil Nadu, had been ill and bed-ridden. His family took him to hospital on Monday though doctors could not find anything wrong with him, the Metro reported.

When they returned home, he stopped moving and thinking that he had died, his family called for a freezer box to be delivered so that they could preserve his body to perform his last rites.

Kumar was kept there for 20 hours until undertakers came to collect the body for the funeral the following day and found that he was still moving and gasping for air, the Metro added.

A video taken at the scene shows an undertaker behind the camera asking Kumar's brother named locally as Saravanan: "His hands are trembling, how?" and Saravanan replies: "Oh, it's fits."

When asked if it was possible he was still alive, Saravanan replies: "His soul has not left him yet."

Kumar was later admitted to hospital in a drowsy condition and later died of lung failure, according to Dr Balajinathan, the dean of the government hospital in Salem, Tamil Nadu.

Salem police chief, Senthil Kumar said the family had been unable to produce a medical certificate for Kumar's death and have initiated a case against the family, the BBC added.

They have been booked under Indian Penal Code Section 287 for negligent conduct to endanger human life and Section 336 for an act of endangering life or personal safety of others, according to The Independent.