Indian teen wakes up on way to his own funeral

A teenager astonished his family by waking up from the dead on the way to his very own funeral in India.

Following a dog bite incident last month in Dharwad' village in Karnataka state, Kumar Marewad was taken to a hospital due to high fever last week by his family.

Given that the infection was taking over the 17-year-old's body, doctors at Dharwad Hospital told the family that he would survive without life support after which the family made the difficult decision to take him off the ventilator.

"We had decided to take Kumar home after doctors told us his chances of survival were bleak once taken off the ventilator," said Kumar's brother-in-law Sharanappa Naikar.

With Kumar lying on the bed with no movements, the family presumed him dead and started making arrangements for the funeral.

The family and villagers, however, were startled when on the way to ritual site to perform his last rites, Kumar opened his eyes with rapid breathing and moving his arms and legs around.

Once again the young boy was rushed to a nearby hospital and was put back on the ventilator.

His current physician, Dr Mahesh Neelakhantannavar said that they "suspect he suffers from meningoencephalitis, an infection caused due to dog bite".

Kumar, son of daily wage labourers, left school after grade 9 to support his family. "Kumar stopped going to school after class IX to support us. He used to work as a construction worker. His elder brother is physically challenged. We need support for his treatment," his parents Ningappa and Manjula said.