Doctor declares living woman dead in city

A woman was found alive four hours after a doctor declared her dead at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on Thursday. However, identity of the woman, aged around 45, could not be known. DMCH doctors and employees said several people brought the woman to the hospital on Tuesday finding her unconscious near the hospital during a drive to evict illegal structures. Later, she was taken to medicine department’s Ward No 802 and being treated for weakness and malnutrition. The duty doctor at the ward proclaimed her dead on Thursday noon. Later, DMCH’s mortuary employee Abdul Aziz came to the ward to take the ‘body’ for autopsy and found her, to his utter surprise, alive. Aziz said: ‘She moved while being taken on the trolley from ward balcony. She seemed alive. Immediately I informed a doctor of the matter. On seeing her, the doctor said she was alive.’ The woman was again admitted to Ward 802. DMCH Deputy Director Mushfiqur Rahman said actions would be taken against those responsible for the blunder, according to a news agency.