SHOCKING: Ecuador woman found alive at her own funeral

Mourners at the funeral of an old lady from Ecuador were surprised to see she was still alive.

Bella Montoya, 76, was reported dead following a supposed stroke last week.

Bella Montoya from Ecuador was found alive at her own funeral: 

Five hours into her wake on Friday, relatives organising to change her clothes before the burial saw her panting for air.

Ms Montoya has now returned to the hospital in intensive care, and Ecuador health ministry has set up a board to probe the incident.

In a report, the ministry said that the lady went into cardiorespiratory arrest – a failure of breathing and heart function – and did not react to resuscitation attempts. The physician on duty confirmed her demise.

Also read: Read why a British girl was shot dead in France 

Local press cited her son, Gilber Rodolfo Balberán Montoya, as saying that his mom had been “admitted about 09:00, and at noon a doctor told me [she] died”.

Ms Montoya was then put in a coffin for some hours till she was found by family members trying to breathe.

A video shared on social media showed her lying in an open coffin and breathing heavily while some people crowded around her. Paramedics are seen coming and observing Ms Montoya before driving her onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.

Now she is under intensive supervision in the same hospital where doctors reported her dead.

AFP news agency cited Mr Balberán as saying: “Little by little, I am grasping what has happened. Now I only pray for my mother’s health to improve. I want her alive and by my side.”