Bella Montoya, a woman who was thought to have died by her relatives, has come back to life, shocking everyone.
The woman made a miraculous return to the land of the living at her own wake.
Relatives of Bella Montoya, 76, were paying their respects to her at her wake on June 9 hours after she was pronounced dead by hospital staff at Martin Icaza Hospital in Babahoyo, Ecuador.
But just four hours after she was put in her coffin, she began gasping for breath after her loved ones opened the coffin to change her clothes.
Her son said that she was also smacking the coffin with her left hand.
She was initially taken to hospital by her son, Gilbert, at 9am on the same day and was pronounced dead two hours later, with the cause of death reportedly listed as cardiorespiratory arrest caused by an unspecified cerebrovascular disease.
Gilbert told local media that his mum had suffered from hypertension and heart problems.
A person filming the shocking incident said that despite the bizarre circumstances, emergency services had no ambulances spare to treat the not-so-dead woman.
“We are here at 509 Olmedo Street, where a person who was declared dead in the hospital has been in the coffin since noon, and it turns out the lady is alive. At this moment, we can see that she has vital signs,” the person said.
“She is struggling to breathe; we called the emergency services, but they told us they will call us back and that there is no ambulance.”
Luckily, she managed to get to an ICU ward, where she is understood to still be.
“My mum is on oxygen. Her heart is stable. The doctor pinched her hand, and she reacted; they tell me that is a good sign because it means she is slowly responding,” her son said.
According to local media, Bella experienced catalepsy – a state of prolonged rigid posture, occurring for example in schizophrenia or in hypnotic trances.
Gilbert said: “I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. Now, I only ask for my mother’s health to improve. I want her to be alive and by my side.”