Elderly Ecuadorian Woman Declared Dead and Found Alive at Funeral in Jakarta

Jakarta –

Mourners at the funeral of an elderly Ecuadorian woman were shocked to learn that she was still alive.

Bella Montoya, 76 years old, was declared dead last week because she was suspected of having had a stroke.

Five hours after Bella was declared dead on Friday (09/06), relatives prepared to change her clothes before the funeral. It was at that moment, they found Bella breathing heavily.

Bella Montoya is now hospitalized in order to undergo intensive care. Ecuador’s Ministry of Health has set up a committee to investigate the incident.

In a statement, the ministry said the woman was in cardiac arrest – loss of breathing and heart function – and was not responding to resuscitation.

The doctor on duty confirmed her death.

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Bella’s son, Gilber Rodolfo Balbern Montoya, told local media that his mother “was admitted at around 9am, and during the day a doctor told me that [beliau] die”.

Bella Montoya was then placed in a coffin for several hours, but then family members saw her trying to breathe.

A video uploaded on social media showed Bella lying in an open coffin gasping for air. Several people seemed to crowd around him.

Paramedics are then seen arriving and observing Bella before moving her onto a stretcher and ambulance.

Now he is in intensive care at the same hospital where he was declared dead.

News agency AFP quoted Bella’s son as saying: “Little by little I understand what has happened. Now I only pray that my mother’s health will improve. I want her to live and be by my side.”

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