A Mississippi man who doctors believed was dead regained consciousness inside of a body bag. 

Officials say 78-year-old Walter Williams was discovered alive and breathing just as funeral home workers got ready to embalm his body.

The coroner told ABC's local station in the central Mississippi city that he checked Williams' pulse and heartbeat, and received zero response. 

Medical officials at Williams' home in Lexington pronounced him dead at about 9 p.m. on Wednesday. They then placed Walters' body in a bag to move the remains.

Walter Williams' nephew Eddie Hester reportedly was witness to this, according to CNN.

"I stood there and watched them put him in a body bag and zip it up," Hester said. 

The cousin told CNN that the officials began transporting the body at about 10:30.

"My cousin called me and said, 'Not yet,' and I said what you mean 'Not yet?' He said, 'Daddy's still here,'" he recalled.

Williams was then transferred to Porter and Sons Funeral Home. Employees preparing to embalm the 78-year-old man were stunned when he started moving.

"He was not dead, long story short," manager of the funeral home Byron Porter told CNN, adding that he'd never witnessed anything like this before.

Williams was then taken to a nearby hospital, where he met family members.

Holmes County Coroner Dexter Howard said it was a miracle that Williams was alive. He wagers Williams' pacemaker stopped working, then started back up again hours later.