Girl 'dead' for 8 hours wakes up at her own funeral, dad insists she wasn't breathing

A 15-year-old Guatemalan girl sat up in the coffin at her own funeral hours after being declared dead. Yuleidy Ixcotoyac had collapsed in front of her father in a car eight hours ago. Video from her wake shows the girl dressed in a pink shift suddenly sitting up and talking as her family members yell "hallelujah".

Yuleidy was being driven to a medical centre by her father, Abraham Ixcotoyac, when she passed out in the car on Saturday (October 10) morning. He immediately stopped and checked her pulse and breathing. Abraham, who is an evangelical pastor, claims he found no activity and declared her dead.

However, Yuleidy's death was not confirmed by a doctor since she wasn't assessed by one, the father said. No official death certificate was issued either. The family was informed of the girl's supposed death, and a coffin was purchased. The wake was scheduled for 2:30 pm the same day. Mourners gathered at the family's home in El Jocote.

‘I kept saying she was alive,’ says the mother

The girl's mother said she noticed movement inside the coffin and insisted multiple times that her daughter wasn't dead. Later, the unexpected happened. "When I was crying on top of her casket, we opened the window, and she was moving, she was waking up, and suddenly she sat up," she told local media.

People watched in shock as the girl sat up and was helped out of the coffin. Video of the dramatic incident quickly spread online.

Yuleidy called her awakening a "miracle" and thanked God and her parents for being alive. Recalling the moments in the car, she said, "My heart started hurting really badly; it felt heavy, and then I blacked out, like I fainted." The father says he was convinced that her daughter was no more, saying she "had simply ceased to exist; she died on the way". He added, "She was no longer breathing, and I couldn’t feel her pulse on her wrists."