Thai woman brought in for cremation found alive in coffin after knocking
BANGKOK - A 65-year-old Thai woman shocked temple staff near Bangkok when she began moving inside her coffin after being delivered for a free cremation service.
What we know:
The incident occurred at the Wat Rat Prakhong Tham Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi, on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Temple staff were astonished when a woman, believed to be deceased and delivered for cremation, began to show signs of life inside her coffin.
The 65-year-old woman's brother drove her approximately 300 miles from the province of Phitsanulok to Bangkok.
Timeline:
The woman had been bedridden for about two years before her health deteriorated, and she became unresponsive, appearing to stop breathing two days before the events at the temple.
The brother first transported his sister, placed inside a coffin, to a Bangkok hospital where she had previously wished to donate her organs.
The hospital refused the offer because the brother did not have an official death certificate.
The brother then approached Wat Rat Prakhong Tham on Sunday for their free cremation service, but they also refused due to the missing death certificate.
While the temple manager was explaining the process for obtaining a certificate, staff heard knocking coming from the coffin.
What they're saying:
Pairat Soodthoop, the temple's general and financial affairs manager, recounted the moment of discovery to The Associated Press on Monday, detailing the shock of the temple staff.
"I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled," he said. "I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time."
What's next:
After the woman was assessed by the temple staff, she was sent to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Soodthoop stated that the temple's abbot would cover her medical expenses.
A video posted on the temple’s Facebook page showed the woman lying in the white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.
The Source: This story is built on exclusive sourcing from The Associated Press (AP), which interviewed Pairat Soodthoop, the general and financial affairs manager of the Wat Rat Prakhong Tham temple. Key details, including direct quotes and the brother's 300-mile journey, come directly from Pairat's account, while video evidence of the woman moving was posted by the temple itself on its Facebook page. The information is based on the direct testimony of an involved party and publicly available social media content from the location of the incident.