Ecuadorian woman who rose at her funeral finally dies one week later

Bella Montoya, an Ecuadorian woman who rose at her funeral has died after spending one week in intensive care.

The 76-year-old woman who had been certified dead at an Ecuadorian hospital was discovered alive and knocking on her coffin during her wake in the city of Babahoyo on June 9.

The woman had earlier been certified dead by a hospital doctor after suffering a suspected stroke.

“Her remains are now back at the same funeral home where she woke up,” her son told the Press.

A video filmed by a mourner shows her trying to breathe in an open casket, while another complains that the ambulance they phoned has yet to arrive.

Firefighters arrived minutes later and hoisted Bella Montoya onto a stretcher and transport her back to the same hospital, where she had been pronounced dead.

Her son recounted to local Ecuadorean media that his mother was in intensive care but was responding to treatment.

A newly created committee has launched an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the first death declaration and how the hospital issues death certificates.

By Amina Hilda