A tentative knock Thai woman wakes up in coffin shortly before cremation
The woman was taken to hospital last Sunday - she was apparently suffering from low blood sugar levels.
Image: Keystone/Wat Rat Prakhong Tham via AP
In predominantly Buddhist Thailand, cremations usually take place in temples.
Image: Keystone
The woman was taken to hospital last Sunday - she was apparently suffering from low blood sugar levels.
Image: Keystone/Wat Rat Prakhong Tham via AP
In predominantly Buddhist Thailand, cremations usually take place in temples.
Image: Keystone
Those believed dead live longer: After his sister apparently stops breathing, a man drives the supposed corpse hundreds of kilometers to a hospital to donate her organs. When he is turned away there, the body is cremated in a temple. Suddenly, a soft knocking can be heard from the coffin.
25.11.2025, 06:24
dpa
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- A 65-year-old woman who was declared dead has been discovered alive in her coffin in Thailand - just moments before the planned cremation.
- The woman's relatives had taken the coffin to the Wat Rat Prakongtham temple in Nonthaburi near Bangkok, where the cremation was to take place.
- The temple broadcast the almost tragic incident via livestream.
Shortly before her planned cremation, a Thai woman caused a stir when she woke up in a coffin in a temple. The Buddhist temple Wat Rat Prakhong Tham in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of the capital Bangkok published a video on Facebook showing the woman in a white coffin on the back of an SUV. In it, she moves her arms and head slightly to the amazement of those present.
Pairat Soodthoop, in charge of the temple's administration and finances, told the AP news agency on Monday that the 65-year-old's brother had driven her from Phitsanulok province to the temple for cremation. Suddenly, a timid knocking could be heard from the coffin. The temple broadcast the almost tragic incident via livestream.
"I was a bit surprised and asked to open the coffin. Everyone was stunned," said Pairat. "I saw her open her eyes slightly and knock against the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite a while."
Brother drives woman 500 kilometers to hospital
According to Pairat, the woman's brother said that his sister had been bedridden for about two years. Two days ago, her condition worsened and she appeared to have stopped breathing. The brother then placed her in a coffin and drove about 500 kilometers with the supposedly dead woman to a hospital in Bangkok, where the sister wanted to donate her organs, according to the brother. However, the hospital refused to accept the offer because the brother could not produce a death certificate.
The brother then turned to the temple, which offers free cremations. Because of the missing document, he was also rejected there. The moment he explained to the brother how he could obtain a death certificate, they heard a knock, Pairat said. After making sure that the woman was alive, she was taken to a hospital. According to Pairat, the abbot of the temple assured them that the temple would cover the medical costs.
