A routine cremation ceremony at a Buddhist temple near Bangkok turned into a dramatic rescue after a woman previously declared dead regained consciousness inside her coffin, moments before the funeral rites were to begin.
The incident occurred at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham temple in Nonthaburi Province, where staff said they were first alerted by unusual sounds coming from the coffin shortly before the scheduled cremation.
STAFF at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham temple near Bangkok, Thailand, said they were alerted after they heard knocking from inside the coffin moments before the cremation of a woman was due to start, Sky News reported.
The 65-year-old woman had reportedly stopped breathing two days earlier and was believed to have died.
Her family transported her body hundreds of miles to the temple, preparing for what they assumed would be her final rites.
However, just as the ceremony was set to commence, the temple’s manager, Pairat Soodthoop, said he heard a faint knock from within the coffin.
“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” he said.
“I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.”
The cremation was due to be live-streamed by the temple.
Local media identified the woman as Chonthirat Sakulkoo. According to Thairath, she was brought in by her brother, Mongkol Sakulkoo, who believed she had passed after becoming unresponsive at their home in Phitsanulok, northern Thailand.
The brother said she had been bedridden for two years before her condition worsened. Acting on advice from local officials who also assumed she had died, he placed her in a coffin and drove to Bangkok.
She had expressed a desire to donate her organs, but hospital officials reportedly rejected the request due to missing documentation.
With no alternative, the family proceeded to the temple, which offers free cremation services.
After being found alive, the woman was rushed to Bang Yai Hospital, where doctors treated her for hypoglycemia before discharging her back into her brother’s care, Thairath reported.
Asked about his reaction to learning his sister was alive, Mr Sakulkoo said he was indifferent, according to the newspaper.