'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A 76-year-old Ecuadorian woman named Bella Montoya, who was declared dead by a hospital doctor, was found breathing in her coffin. On Friday, June 9, Bella Montoya was rushed to the hospital due to a suspected stroke and was declared dead by an on-duty doctor at the Martín Icaza Hospital in the Los Rios province.
During her wake later that day, family members were left shocked after finding out that Montoya, who had been in a coffin for more than four hours, was breathing and alive. The elderly woman was transported back to the hospital, where she remains in the ICU.
The video of Montoya being lifted from the coffin was posted by multiple sources on social media and has since gone viral.
Netizens were left stunned by the video. A lot of the comment's under @10NewsFirst's tweet - which depicted Montoya being removed from her coffin - were about zombies, with one netizen taking the incident to be a reminder that they are real.
Netizens criticize hospital management for wrongfully declaring Bella Montoya dead
According to Bella Montoya's son, Gilbert Balberán, Montoya was admitted to the hospital at around 9 am on Friday due to a suspected stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest. Once she failed to respond to resuscitation procedures, the doctor present at the time, declared her dead at around 12 pm. The reason given was that she had suffered a stroke.
Later in the day, Bella Montoya was laid to rest inside a coffin and was taken to a funeral parlor, where a vigil was held in the presence of around 20 relatives before the burial was to commence. Four hours later, the coffin was opened for changing Montoya's clothes before the burial. To the bewilderment of everyone present the woman, presumed dead, was seen opening her eyes and gasping for air.
In the video, relatives could be seen examining the elderly woman by holding her hand and head as she struggled to breathe. Paramedics eventually arrived and stretchered her out, back to the same hospital that declared her dead.
In the comments section of the video posted on Twitter by @10NewsFirst, users expressed their astonishment and fear upon seeing such an eerily uncanny situation. People were also quick to point out and criticize the error made by the hospital management and doctors, who prematurely declared Bella Montoya dead. Some people offered prayers for Bella's recovery.
Most of the comments under Associated Press' video on youtube dealt with how many times such a situation might've happened because of "quack" doctors. Many also asked why she wasn't embalmed.
A few people made light of the situation, while yet others thought about the insights she might have after such an experience.
"My mum is on oxygen, her heart is stable": says Gilbert Balberán
Gilbert Balberán recounted to El Universo Newspaper about how they noticed signs of life in his presumably dead mother:
"My mother started to move the left hand, open her eyes, the mouth."
After he returned to Martín Icaza Hospital, Balberán says that the doctor who declared Montoya dead was nowhere to be found.
"The doctor at noon told me that my mother was dead was not at the facility. Another one saw me and he gave her oxygen, they intubated her and took her to an (ICU) room where she is under observation."
According to Gilbert, the doctor had even given him Bella Montoya's death certificate, which specified that she had died of cardiorespiratory arrest due to suffering from an unspecified cerebrovascular disease.
He told El Universo about the current condition of his mother:
"My mum is on oxygen, her heart is stable. The doctor pinched her hand and she reacted, they tell me that's good because it means she is reacting little by little."
The ministry has formed a committee to investigate the details of the incident.
