A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation.
Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on social media showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pickup truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered.
#Unbelievable! đ˛ A 65-yr-old #Thai woman "came back to life" mins before cremation! Declared dead at home, she was put in a coffin for the temple. But then, staff heard knocking & faint cries from inside! đą She's now in the hospital â no signs of prior respiratory or cardiac⌠pic.twitter.com/WOpQDadj3n
â Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) November 25, 2025
Pairat Soodthoop, the templeâs general and financial affairs manager, told The Associated Press on Monday that the 65-year-old womanâs brother drove her from the province of Phitsanulok to be cremated.
He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin.
âI was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,â he said. âI saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.â
According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for about two years, when her health deteriorated, and she became unresponsive, appearing to stop breathing two days ago. The brother then placed her in a coffin and made the 300-milejourney to a hospital in Bangkok, to which the woman had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs.
The hospital refused to accept the brotherâs offer as he didnât have an official death certificate, Pairat said. His temple offers a free cremation service, which is why the brother approached them on Sunday, but was also refused due to the missing document.
The temple manager said that while he was explaining how to get a death certificate when they heard the knocking. They then assessed her and sent her to a nearby hospital.
The abbot said the temple would cover her medical expenses, according to Pairat.
Â
The Associated Press contributed to this article