Man awakes after 21 hours in morgue

Man awakes after 21 hours in morgue

JOHANNESBURG

A South African health official says a man awoke to find himself in a morgue fridge — nearly a day after his family thought he had died.

Health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said Monday that the man awoke Sunday afternoon, 21 hours after his family called in an undertaker who sent him to the morgue after an asthma attack.

Kupelo says the man started yelling, prompting morgue workers to run away in fear. They eventually returned and removed him from the fridge. He was then taken to a nearby hospital and later discharged by doctors who deemed him stable.

The mortuary owner says his family is very happy to have him home.

Kupelo urged South Africans to call on health officials to confirm that their relatives are really dead.

Bail set for man accused in shooting

SEATTLE

A 42-year-old man accused of shooting seven people at a crowded nightclub near Seattle has been ordered held in King County Jail on Monday in lieu of $1 million bond.

A probable-cause statement says Cesar Vielma-Chapparo told police he followed his estranged wife and her new boyfriend to a nightclub at the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn. It says he told police he couldn’t stand it and opened fire.

Police say he shot his wife, his wife’s male companion, her two sisters and three bystanders before a security guard tackled him. He is being held in King County Jail on investigation on four counts of investigation of attempted murder.

Meanwhile, no arrests have been made in a shooting that injured 13 people at a lowrider car show in nearby Kent.

Service looking to close post offices

WASHINGTON

The Postal Service is launching a study of thousands of local post offices for possible closure in an effort to save money.

The cash-strapped agency lost $8 billion last year. Postal officials have scheduled a briefing for today.

Most of the approximately 3,600 offices that face reviews are in rural areas, but postal official say they are looking into alternate service, such as locating offices in businesses, town halls or community centers.

In those cases the so-called Village Post Office would replace one to be closed.

Coming under review doesn’t necessarily mean an office will close. The post office announced in January it was reviewing 1,400 offices for closing. So far 280 have been closed and 200 have finished the review process and will remain open.

Associated Press