Ecuador: Woman Surfaces After Declared Dead, Leaving Family Unsure Who They Cremated

A woman from Guayaquil, Ecuador, discovered this weekend that her sister, whose cremated ashes she supposedly received last month, was alive and making a steady recovery.

Alba Maruri, 74, was admitted to an intensive care unit on March 27 after suffering from a high fever and respiratory problems. The hospital staff later contacted her family to inform them that she had passed away and sent them what they believed to be her ashes for burial.

After finally realizing their mistake, health workers went to the family home to inform them about their error.

“An ambulance arrived with a doctor, a psychiatrist, and the social worker. They apologized, and they tell us ‘Your sister is alive,’ and we were in shock,” the woman’s sister, Aura Maruri, told Reuters. “It is a miracle of God what has happened.”

Alba is believed to have contracted the Chinese coronavirus, although this is not confirmed as she has never been tested. Her symptoms, including high fever and difficulty breathing, match those of the typical coronavirus patient. The city of Guayaquil remains the epicenter of the pandemic in Latin America.

Aparece viva mujer que fue dada por muerta por Covid-19 en Ecuador https://t.co/PDqTGb4OlV pic.twitter.com/jjbiBZOspn

— INFO7 (@info7mty) April 26, 2020

Although Alba is still suffering from symptoms and being treated at Abel Gilbert Ponton Hospital, she is no longer in intensive care. The family were unable to visit Alba until Saturday because of lockdown measures imposed by the government. Aura says she now does not know what to do with the ashes she received and does not know who they belong to.

Juan Carlos Ramírez, Alba Maruri’s nephew, told Ecuador’s La República that the government also does not appear to know who they cremated.

“Doctors came to my aunt’s house to confirm and inform about the error. They don’t know yet who the ashes in our house belong to,” he said.

Responding to the mix-up, Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos told reporters that they were investigating the case and that health authorities guarantee the identification of corpses in order to keep track of the deceased. Zevallos reportedly called the incident “shocking.”

The head of Ecuador’s coronavirus Task Force, Jorge Wated, announced that he would file charges against facilities involved in Maruri’s case.

“This is enough for a complaint that I will file on Monday over the management of the morgues in a hospital in Guayaquil,” the official reportedly said.

The incident underlines the unprecedented challenge currently faced by Ecuador, the Latin American country most badly affected by the pandemic. As of Monday, the country had recorded 22,719 cases and 567 fatalities, the majority of which come from Guayaquil, although many believe the figures are much higher.

La República noted also reports of dozens of families demanding the remains of their dead loved ones and receiving no answers from local morgues, other than that the bodies were missing. The government has fired at least one hospital worker for misplacing corpses.

Last month, the government announced the creation of a special task force after reports that dozens of families were keeping the corpses of their loved ones in their houses or even dumping them in the street. After initially creating a mass communal grave, they have since set up refrigerated containers to act as mobile morgues.

“I couldn’t sleep because I was afraid they would take her (remains) to those containers for the dead,” said Aura. “There was a failure by the hospital.”

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