A man in Belgium faked his own death and then turned up in a helicopter to his own funeral as part of a spectacular act to warn his family about keeping in touch. David Baerten, a 45-year-old TikTok creator, told his wife and children about his complicated plan, and they helped him pull off the weird stunt by supporting him on social media.
One of his daughters participated to orchestrate the pseudocide in what many online have slammed as a cruel "joke" writing on social media: "Rest in peace, Daddy." I'll never stop thinking about you," according to a report in the Times UK.
Strange and Shocking Prank
"Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you," Baerten's daughter wrote on social media to make the prank look real.
Last weekend, several of Bearten's friends and family members dressed in black attended the fake funeral close to the city of Liege. They waited for the ceremony to start before being met by a chopper that had just landed.
According to the Times, the "dead man" exited the helicopter with a video crew and said, "Cheers to you all, welcome to my funeral."
While others waited in the parking lot, a little perplexed as to what was going on, some were relieved by Baerten's "return from the dead," sprinting through a field to hug the man as he landed.
Baerten was forced to explain the criticism he received from some funeral attendees by saying that he had done it because he didn't like the way his family and friends had been treating him.
"What I see in my family often hurts me, I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me. We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated," Baerten said. "That's why I wanted to give them a life lesson, and show them that you shouldn't wait until someone is dead to meet up with them."
Making Friends and Family Realize
Baerten, who has around 165,000 followers on TikTok claims that since the joke, several family members have been getting in touch with him, which " proves who really cares about me. Those who didn't come, did contact me to meet up. So in a way, I did win."
Baerten has not yet released the full video of him arriving by chopper. Another TikTok user captured the reactions of the helicopter landing and Baerten hugging one "mourner" who was in tears during the embrace.
"You had us we love you my friend we are happy that you are among us," Thomas Faut wrote in the caption of one of the videos he shared on his TikTok account el.tiktokeur2.
"I swear I was crying and then I had the shock buddy, we love you very much," he said of the emotional reunion, despite his friend's deception.
Several of his fans advised him to "ignore the haters" and agreed that it was an important "life lesson" for his family.
Many also acknowledged that they had fallen for the joke too but expressed relief that he was still alive.
