- Temple staff heard knocking from inside coffin
- Woman presumed dead but showed signs of life when coffin was opened
- She was suffering from severe hypoglycaemia, not cardiac or respiratory failure
A woman believed to be dead and prepared for cremation at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok was discovered alive by temple staff.
Pairat Soodthoop, the general manager of Wat Rat Prakhong Tham temple, told the Associated Press that he was “startled” to hear a faint knocking from inside the coffin. He said he immediately asked for it to be opened, only to find the woman “slightly opening her eyes and tapping on the coffin’s side.” He added, “She must have been knocking for quite a while.”
According to the temple manager, the woman’s 65-year-old brother had been informed by local officials that she had died, though he did not have an official death certificate. As Mr. Soodthoop was explaining how to obtain one, staff members heard a soft knock coming from the coffin.
Once they realized the woman was still alive, the temple’s abbot ordered that she be taken to a hospital right away. Doctors later determined she had been suffering from severe hypoglycaemia, a dangerous drop in blood sugar, according to local reports. They ruled out respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.
The brother said his sister had been bedridden for two years, and as her health worsened on Saturday, she appeared to stop breathing. The family had traveled nearly 500 km (311 miles) from Phitsanulok province to the temple for the cremation ceremony.
