Woman, who knocked her coffin and 'came back to life', dies after a week

A 76-year-old Ecuadorian woman, who days back knocked her coffin at her own funeral and came back to life leaving her relatives surprised, has been declared dead again after spending seven days in intensive care.

As per reports, Bella Montoya suddenly woke up during her funeral ceremony and started knocking from inside her coffin after spending five hours in it at a funeral parlour located in Babahoyo, around 129 miles southwest of Quito, on June 9 (Friday).

The health ministry of Ecuador stated that Montoya died from an ischaemic stroke on Friday after spending a week in an intensive care unit at the Martin Icaza Hospital.

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The ministry added that the woman was kept under 'permanent surveillance', however, theydid not provide any more information in the medical investigation revolving around her case.

Her son Gilberto Barbera Montoya stated that the authorities did not send him any report about what happened and added things “are not going to stay like this”.

He stated that a formal complaint has been filed by his mother's sister, seeking the identity of the doctor who declared her dead. The hospital which issued the death certificate earlier will be reviewed by a technical committee, stated the country's Ministry of Health last week.

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Back to life from death

On Friday (June 9), the woman fell ill and was admitted to Martin Icaza Hospital in the province of Los Rios at 9 am and was pronounced dead at 12 pm after she suffered a stroke, as stated by her son.

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Four hours were spent by Montoya inside the casket and her clothes were about to be changed at a funeral home when her family members noticed the signs of life in her around 8.50 pm.

“My mother started to move the left hand, open her eyes, the mouth,” Barbera Montoya said while speaking to the local newspaper El Universo. “She was making an effort to breathe,” she added.

After some time, paramedics arrived at the funeral parlour, placed the woman on a stretcher and rushed her to Martín Icaza Hospital, where she was kept under intensive care.

According to the medical experts, the woman was in a state of catalepsy or cataplexy, which is a condition characterised by “temporary loss of muscle control resulting in weakness and possible collapse”, as per NHS.

In the death certificate, it was noted that the woman died because of “cardiorespiratory arrest due to suffering from an unspecified cerebrovascular disease.”

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