A woman in Thailand who was thought to be dead shocked temple staff when she began moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation.
A Buddhist temple in Nonthaburi, Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, in Bangkok, posted a video on Facebook showing the woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head as bewildered staff looked on.
Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager, said on Monday that the 65-year-old woman’s brother had driven her from Phitsanulok province to be cremated.
He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin.
“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” he said.
“I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.”
According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for about two years after her health deteriorated and she became unresponsive, appearing to stop breathing two days ago.
The brother then placed her in a coffin and made the 300-mile journey to a hospital in Bangkok, where the woman had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs.
The hospital refused to accept the brother’s offer as he did not have an official death certificate, Pairat said.
His temple offers a free cremation service, but they also refused to accept the body due to the missing document.
The temple manager said that it was while he was explaining how to get a death certificate that they heard the knocking. They then assessed her and sent her to a nearby hospital.
The abbot said the temple would cover her medical expenses, according to Pairat.
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