Doctor: Premature baby came 'back to life'

NAHARIYA, Israel, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Doctors in Nahariya, Israel, said a premature baby miraculously "came back to life" after five hours in a hospital cooler.

Nahariya Hospital doctors said a 26-year-old woman had come in to the hospital for a series of tests that discovered the fetus was showing no signs of life, the Jerusalem Post reported Monday.

The doctors said they performed a second trimester abortion by inducing labor prematurely and the baby girl was born without a pulse. She was pronounced dead and transferred to the hospital's morgue.

However, when the child's father asked to see the remains five hours later, doctors discovered the child had begun to show signs of life, including breathing.

"I've been a doctor for 35 years and this is the first time I've ever seen such a thing happen," Dr. Moshe Daniel, deputy chief of staff at the hospital, told Ynetnews. "This is somewhat of a medical miracle. We've informed the Health Ministry and I guess they'll appoint a commission of inquiry. The hospital will ask for an external investigation of the case."

Daniel said the baby, who was transferred to intensive care, has a very slim chance of survival.

"Because of just how premature she is, her chances are very slim. Then again, she already saw divine intervention once so you never know. We're doing everything we can for her," he said.