• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Your Privacy Choices
  • Contact Us
  • Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
  • © 2026 ABC News
  • News

Man Thought to Have Died From Ebola Awakens After Burial Team Wraps Him Up

NaN:NaN
Man Thought to Have Died From Ebola Awakes
Richard Besser/ABC News
ByDR. RICHARD BESSER
October 02, 2014, 3:11 PM

— -- MONROVIA, Liberia -- Amid the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, it's easier to get help if you are dead than if you are alive.

My producer and I were driving back from an assignment in Monrovia, where we filmed this morning's "Good Morning America" segment, when we saw a burial team working along the roadway surrounded by crowds of angry locals.

A community leader said they had been trying to get help for the dead man for days, but no ambulance ever came. When the man died, a burial team came in an hour.

Get the Latest News on the Ebola Outbreak

The Experimental Treatments That Could Stop Ebola

New Details on First U.S. Ebola Patient

A burial team discovers a man thought to be dead was actually alive in Liberia on Oct. 2, 2014.

We watched as the burial team suited up and approached the body lying against a wall. They sprayed it down with bleach and moved it to a black, plastic sheet and began to wrap it up.

"We couldn't get him help when he was alive," a community leader told me. "They only come when you die."

Just then, the dead man moved his arm -- just a little, but clearly a sign of life.

"He's alive," someone yelled.

The burial team unwrapped him and put him back on the ground. The man was alive but looked like he would only last a few more hours.

About ten minutes later, an ambulance pulled up and a separate team of health workers loaded him into the back.

The crowd went wild cheering.

Up Next in News—

Kids who lost loved ones on 9/11 channel grief into art at America's Camp

September 11, 2026

Anthropic says it blocked potential AI bioweapon misuse

September 11, 2026

Lindsay Clancy's attorney asks judge to force 'not guilty' finding

September 10, 2026

Remembering the hero search-and-rescue dogs of 9/11, 25 years later

September 10, 2026

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Privacy Choices
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap
  • Recalls and Product Safety Alerts

© 2026 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Your Privacy Choices— 
  • Contact Us— 
  • Recalls and Product Safety Alerts— 

© 2026 ABC News