Woman declared dead in Ecuador bangs on coffin during wake
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Mourners in Ecuador had gathered at the funeral of retired nurse Bella Montoya when they heard strange noises coming from inside the coffin.
That might sound like a trope from a horror movie, but relatives were startled to see that Montoya — who had been declared dead after she was believed to have suffered a stroke and cardiac arrest — was still alive and breathing, her family and officials said Monday.
"It gave us all a fright," her son, Gilberto Barbera, told The Associated Press.
The woman, 76, was unconscious when her family took her to the hospital in the central city of Babahoyo on Friday, her son told the AP.
She did not respond to resuscitation, and the doctor on duty at Hospital Martin Icaza de Babahoyo declared that she had died, the Ecuadorian health ministry said in a statement.
Her family took her to the funeral home the same day, only to hear sounds from inside her coffin during the wake, her son said.
"There were about 20 of us there," he said. "After about five hours of the wake, the coffin started to make sounds. My mom was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached we could see that she was breathing heavily."
Bella Montoya, 76, seemingly revived inside her coffin. AP
Video recorded immediately afterward showed a coffin resting on the floor of a small, bare, light-blue room furnished with a silver crucifix and a pedestal fan. Inside the open casket was a woman with a gaunt face and gray hair, who was moving her mouth up and down as two men supported her head.
She was rushed back to the hospital, where she remained intubated in intensive care, the health ministry said, describing her condition as "unstable." Her son said doctors had not given them much hope about her prognosis.
The health ministry said it has formed a committee with other government agencies to audit how the premature declaration of death came about.
Ecuador's public health care system provides universal coverage.
Even though Ecuador is a middle-income nation, its health care system is ranked in the global top 50 for efficiency, based on government spending and life expectancy, according to the Bloomberg Health-Efficiency Index.
After the incident Friday, the health ministry tried to reassure Ecuadorians that it "maintains the offer of health services to the population at all levels of care."
CORRECTION (June 13, 2023, 7:30 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled part of the name of the hospital where Bella Montoya was mistakenly declared dead. It is Hospital Martin Icaza de Babahoyo, not Marlin.
Caroline Radnofsky and The Associated Press contributed.
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Two points: 1. That's traumatizing to everybody. 2. This is why in 'many' companies-one is put in frozen storage containment and embalmed! You don't come back from that during the service!
Once did CPR in the back of an ambulance until I was exhausted.
The guy had been dead for an hour before we even got there.
Got to the hospital and he sat up and asked "where the fuck am I"
Had some weird cases back in the day and that was the weirdest.
I can believe it, cjcold. I can believe it.
should have put a stake in his heart
Oh no!
Ok...it's not like I'm superstitious or even believe in vampires....but when somebody is supposed to be dead....and comes back to life.....
I remember seeing a picture in my childhood from a distant relative in the funeral industry. it was of a corpse that had sat up on the table prior to being embalmed. there were other stories about other dead bodies doing weird stuff, but I can't remember them...
I have heard of this having due to gases (trapped) in the body following certain 'pathways' internally affecting sitting, standing body memorizations. (This is so depressing to talk about isn't it? But it may be helpful too.)
Apparently, Frida Kahlo sat up during her cremation.
that bbq grate got too hot...
So they do not embalm bodies in Ecuador?
Whenever I hear these stories that is the first thing I think of. I suppose that is what comes of having so many ancestors who were undertakers.
This line stood right out:
Her family took her to the funeral home the same day, only to hear sounds from inside her coffin during the wake, her son said.
They even held a wake the same day "the body was brought by the family to the funeral home." That's a whole different world!
Yes, they do I have read offer embalming and full-service funerals. But they do offer alternatives (designed for the Poor):
Now then they did 'right' by her in one sense: They did not take the "Direct Cremation" service!
It is a problem for countries without proper cold storage to quickly 'dispose' of the body. They just procedurally declare "dead" and move to put you away in the ground and yes people who are suffering some type of weak heart episode do wake up. (I saw this happen once on a segment of NationalGeographic).
Doesn't sound like she's long for this world even after she revived.
Has anyone ever heard of Conrad Aiken's short story "Mr. Arcularis"? The article above reminded me of listening to a radio broadcast of it in the early 1950s.
He has a gift for understatement.
So... Is she woke now?
Good thing they didn't stick her in the crematorium that day
From the article:
Hmmm.
There's something to be said for either cremation or embalming.
I want to be lost at sea so everybody keeps wondering.
That would be a good Gilligan's Island episode.