- A woman who shocked her loved ones by knocking on her coffin at her own funeral has died.
- Bella Montoya, 76, from Ecuador, suffered a stroke on Friday.
A woman who shocked her loved ones by knocking on her coffin at her own funeral has died after a week in intensive care.
Bella Montoya, 76, from Ecuador, suffered a stroke on Friday and died, according to the country's health ministry, Sky News reports.
The retired nurse was kept under "permanent surveillance" after she knocked on her coffin at her wake just hours after she had been declared dead.
Five hours into her wake on June 9th, relatives noticed how the coffin "started to make sounds," her son, Gilberto Barbera, told AP.
"My mom was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached, we could see that she was breathing heavily," he said. "It gave us all a fright."
A video published on AP shows relatives attending to Montoya as she lays on her side and struggles to breathe.
Montoya was quickly rushed to hospital but did not recover.
After passing away on Friday night, Montoya has now been returned to the funeral home where her wake was intended to happen, and she will be buried at a public graveyard, per Sky News.
Ecuador's Health Ministry said it would launch a government investigation into the hospital to find out how it issues death certificates, AP reported. No details have been released about the doctor who declared her dead.