WATCH: Ecuadorian Woman Found Alive in Coffin at Her Own Wake

Mourners attending the wake of a woman in Ecuador were shocked to discover that she was, in fact, still alive.

Bella Montoya, a 76-year-old woman from the city of Babahoyo, had been pronounced dead by a hospital doctor following a suspected stroke, CNN reported. Her body was placed in a coffin and transported to a funeral parlour, where her relatives gathered for a vigil before her planned burial.

Five hours after she was pronounced dead, the coffin was opened to change Montoya’s clothes in preparation for the funeral. Much to everyone’s disbelief, the woman gasped for air, sending shockwaves through the gathering.

Gilbert Balberán, her son, vividly described the experience, saying, “My mum started to move her left hand, to open her eyes, her mouth; she struggled to breathe.”

The scene was captured on video by one of the mourners, revealing Montoya lying in an open coffin, visibly struggling for breath. Adding to the distress, the mourners expressed frustration at the delayed arrival of an ambulance they had called for assistance.

“Extraordinary !!” the post accompanying the video reads (translated from Spanish). “They were going to hold a wake for her but she was ALIVE[.] Bella Montoya, elderly woman, was thought dead in the Babahoyo hospital[.] They let her son take her at midday so they could have the viewing! But at 6;30 p.m. they realized she was still alive.”

Bella Montoya, mujer de la tercera edad fue dada por muerta en el hospital de Babahoyo

Se la entregaron a su hijo al medio día para que realizara el velatorio! Pero a las 18:30 se dieron cuenta que aún estaba viva.#Babahoyo… pic.twitter.com/E84hcN3nzn

— Ecuador Comunicación (@ecuadorprensaec) June 10, 2023

Firefighters arrived on the scene and promptly transferred Montoya onto a stretcher. She was swiftly taken back to the hospital where she had earlier been declared dead.

Balberán said he had taken his mother to the hospital on Friday at approximately 9:00 a.m., and by noon, a doctor had informed him of her passing. A death certificate had been issued, citing cardiopulmonary arrest resulting from a stroke as the cause of death.

The incident has prompted investigations into the circumstances surrounding the apparently premature declaration of Montoya’s death. Meanwhile, the family eagerly awaits further updates on Montoya’s condition.