Man pronounced dead by responders until he starts breathing

First responders preparing to take the body of a Milwaukee man pronounced dead to the morgue got a jolt when the man suddenly began moving and noticeably breathing, authorities said on Friday.

They had gone to the 46-year-old man’s high-rise building on Tuesday after his worried girlfriend called for assistance, saying she had not heard from him for two days, according to a medical examiner’s report.

When they arrived at his apartment, they found him cold, pale and rigid at the foot of his bed, the report said.

They did not try to resuscitate him.

About 50 minutes later, the medical examiner arrived and notified the man’s family of his death. As the examiner readied the body to be taken to the morgue, the man began to move his left arm and right leg, the report said.

Paramedics took the man, who has not been identified, to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.