Funerals are often sad and sombre events where mourners bid farewell to a dear friend or relative who has passed away.
However, a wake in Ecuador takes an unexpected turn when a woman who was presumed dead starts pounding on her coffin to pretend she’s still alive, reports Sky News.
A strange incident in downtown Babahayo prompted an official investigation into the hospital where Bela Montoya was being treated.
Ms. Montoya, a 76-year-old former nurse, was dragged from her coffin and taken to hospital after an unfinished funeral on Friday.
His son Gilberto Barbera, relieved but shocked, said: “It gave us all a fright. There were about 20 of us there…. After about five hours of the wake, the coffin started to make sounds. My mum was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached we could see that she was breathing heavily,” reports Sky News.
Mr Barbera said doctors told him that his mother’s condition was critical.
Ms Montaya remained in intensive care at the Martin Icaza hospital in Babahoyo on Monday while the ministry investigated the doctors involved in her case, Ecuador’s health ministry said, reports Sky News.
A technical committee was also constituted to review how the hospital issues death certificates, the ministry added.
Ms. Montoya was initially hospitalized Friday with a possible stroke and cardiac arrest.
She was declared dead when she did not respond to resuscitation, the health ministry added.
Mr. Barbera said his mother was unconscious when she was brought to the emergency room, and a doctor pronounced her dead hours later.
The doctor then gave the identity card and a death certificate, reports Sky News.
Ms. Montoya is now being intubated and doctors are giving relatives little hope about her prognosis, Mr Barbera said.
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