She Was Minutes from Being Cremated When Staff Heard Knocking: 65-Year-Old Thai Woman Found Alive in Her Coffin

A quiet day at a Thai temple turned into chaos when a woman believed to be dead began moving inside her coffin just before cremation. The unexpected moment, reported by the Associated Press, happened at the Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok.

A 65-year-old woman was brought in by her brother, who had traveled over 300 miles from Phitsanulok. She had been bedridden for two years and recently became unresponsive. Believing she had passed, her brother placed her in a coffin and attempted to fulfill her wish of donating her organs at a Bangkok hospital.

But without an official death certificate, the hospital declined to accept her body. Seeking an alternative, the brother brought her to the temple for cremation, which also required documentation. That’s when the unbelievable happened.

“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” said Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager. “I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.”

Temple staff were left in disbelief after hearing a faint knock coming from the white coffin. The woman was seen moving her arms and head. She was immediately transported to a nearby hospital by emergency responders.

According to Pairat, the abbot of the temple has offered to cover all her medical expenses. Her identity and current condition remains unknown.