Thai woman found alive in coffin ahead of cremation

A woman in Thailand shocked temple officials when she started moving around in her coffin after being brought in for a funeral.

Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pickup truck, slightly moving her arms and head, stunning temple staff.

Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial manager, told The Associated Press on Monday that the 65-year-old woman’s brother brought her from Phitsanulok province to be cremated.

He said they heard a slight knocking sound from the coffin.

“I was a little surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin and everyone was surprised,” he said.

“I saw him open his eyes slightly and knock on the side of the coffin. He must have been knocking on the door for a long time.”

According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for nearly two years, her health had deteriorated and she had become unresponsive, appearing to have stopped breathing two days ago.

Her brother then placed her in a coffin and drove the 500 kilometers to a hospital in Bangkok, where the woman had previously expressed her wish to donate her organs.

Pairat said the hospital did not accept the brother’s offer because there was no official death certificate.

His temple offers free cremation, so the brother applied for them on Sunday but was also rejected due to missing documentation.

The temple administrator said that while he was explaining how to obtain the death certificate, they heard a knock on the door.

They then evaluated him and sent him to a nearby hospital.

According to Pairat, the abbot said the temple would cover his medical expenses.