An elderly woman from Ecuador, who found herself inside a coffin during her own wake, is currently receiving treatment at the same state hospital that had previously pronounced her dead two days earlier, according to her son. On Sunday, a video surfaced on Twitter showing Bella Montoya, aged 76, breathing heavily while two men provided assistance beside her open coffin.
Gilbert Balbern, Montoya’s son, shared that after the five-hour wake, his mother was heard “hitting the box” with her left hand.
This was after the Martin Icaza public hospital in the coastal town of Babahoyo had erroneously declared Montoya deceased on Friday, even issuing a death certificate, as Balbern mentioned in a video broadcast by local media.
According to a statement from Ecuador’s Health Ministry on Sunday, Montoya had been admitted to the hospital with suspected stroke symptoms. She subsequently experienced cardiorespiratory arrest and did not respond to resuscitation attempts, leading the attending physician to confirm her death. The Health Ministry announced the formation of a committee to investigate the incident and ensure Montoya’s care is properly supervised.
