Ecuadorian woman found alive in coffin dies in intensive care
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Ecuador's Health Ministry reveals that Montoya died from an ischemic stroke, adding that she remained under “permanent surveillance”.
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A man is seen opening the coffin to get the woman out who was thought to be deceased on June 17, 2023 in Ecuador (Screengrab/AP)
After being declared dead and waking up in her own coffin, 76-year-old Bella Montoya from Ecuador died seven days after remaining in intensive care.
According to a statement by the country's health ministry, Montoya died in intensive care from an ischemic stroke, adding that she remained under “permanent surveillance”.
Although no further information was given by authorities, her son, Gilberto Barbera Montoya, stated that he hadn't received any report on the original medical explanation and warned that things “are not going to stay like this”.
He added that his mother's sister formally complained about the incident, in an attempt to identify the medical doctor who initially declared her dead.
The Ecuadorian health ministry initially reported that she did not respond to resuscitation attempts the first time she was declared dead.
She was then taken to a funeral home for her family to proceed with the ceremonial proceedings when her family started hearing banging noises coming from the coffin; only for them to find out that their mom was the one banging from inside and breathing heavily.
“There were about 20 of us there,” her son said at the time. “After about five hours of the wake, the coffin started to make sounds. My mom was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached we could see that she was breathing heavily.”
Ecuador's Ministry of Health announced last week that a technical committee was established to review how the hospital issues death certificates.
