A 65-year-old woman in Thailand was found alive in her coffin at a Buddhist temple, moments before she was to be cremated. Temple staff were left bewildered after hearing faint knocking and noticing movement from inside the coffin.
The incident occurred at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham in Nonthaburi, on the outskirts of Bangkok. The temple's manager, Pairat Soodthoop, told the Associated Press that the woman's brother had driven her from Phitsanulok province for cremation.
According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for two years. Her health deteriorated and she appeared to stop breathing two days ago, leading him to place her in a coffin and travel 500 kilometres to a Bangkok hospital to fulfil her wish to donate her organs. However, the hospital refused without an official death certificate.
The brother then approached the temple for its free cremation service, but was again refused due to the missing document. While Pairat was explaining how to obtain a death certificate, they heard knocking from the coffin. Upon opening it, they saw the woman moving her arms and head. She was sent to a nearby hospital, and the temple's abbot has offered to cover her medical expenses.
