‘Dead’ Spanish prisoner wakes up in morgue

A dead prisoner in Spain woke up in a hospital mortuary alive. Gonzalo Montoya Jimenez had been declared dead by three doctors after he was found unconscious in his prison cell.

According to Spanish media, Montoya, an inmate at a jail in the Spanish region of Asturias, was found slumped in his cell at breakfast time on Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene, with three different doctors confirming that he indeed passed away. He was taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Oviedo for an autopsy. The prisoner allegedly complained of feeling ill the day before.

Minutes before cutting Montoya’s body, the coroner reportedly heard him snoring. Montoya regained consciousness moments before he was about to be cut open. He is now in a hospital for observation.

As a standard procedure, his family had been informed about his “death” after two prison doctors concluded that he had clinical signs of death and a forensic doctor confirmed his state. A Spanish Prison Service spokesman was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying that they had no idea how Montoya was still alive after three physicians confirmed his death.

Hospital sources told Telecinco (via BBC) that it could just be a case of catalepsy, a nervous condition that leaves sufferers in a trance-like state while their body mimics the rigidity of a dead one. Symptoms include loss of muscle control and even slowing down functions, including breathing.

Montoya has been in prison for 29 years. It’s unclear what his crime was or how long his sentence is.