Woman Who Knocked on Her Coffin Bids Farewell

According to the BBC, 76-year-old Bella Montoya, who was incorrectly proclaimed dead and stunned her family at her burial by pounding on her coffin, died after seven days in intensive care. The Ecuadorian health ministry said that Bella Montoya had a stroke after a week in critical care. She was constantly monitored in the hospital.

“This time my mother did die,” her son Gilbert Barbera told a local newspaper. My life has changed forever. Local media said that Bella Montoya died on June 16 and was returned to the same funeral home for her public cemetery burial. Local media said that Bella Montoya had catalepsy, which causes seizures, unconsciousness, and rigidity.

After being mistakenly proclaimed deceased, Bella Montoya was coffined and buried on June 9. During the vigil, she knocked on her coffin and regained consciousness. The family found her gasping. The ministry said she had cardiorespiratory arrest, lost breathing and cardiac function, and did not react to CPR. The doctor declared her dead.

Gilbert Rodolfo Balberan Montoya, Bella’s son, told local media that his mother was admitted around 9 am and died at noon. She was coffin-bound for hours. Bella Montoya breathes hard in an open casket in a popular video. Paramedics arrive, examine her health, and move her to a stretcher and ambulance.