In an event that can only be described as miraculous, a 65-year-old Thai woman was discovered alive and moving inside her coffin moments before she was due to be cremated.
The Temple Discovery
The astonishing incident unfolded at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok. Temple staff became bewildered when they heard faint knocking sounds coming from a white coffin that had just been delivered in the back of a pick-up truck.
Pairat Soodthoop, the temple's general and financial affairs manager, described the moment of discovery. "I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled," he told The Associated Press on Monday. "I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time."
The Journey to the Temple
The woman's brother had transported her body from their home province of Phitsanulok, undertaking a 500-kilometre (300-mile) journey to reach the temple. According to Pairat, the brother explained that his sister had been bedridden for approximately two years before her health dramatically deteriorated.
The woman had become unresponsive and appeared to stop breathing two days earlier. Following this, her brother placed her in a coffin and began the long journey to a hospital in Bangkok, where the woman had previously expressed her wish to donate her organs.
However, the hospital refused to accept the brother's offer because he didn't possess an official death certificate. The temple, which offers free cremation services, was subsequently approached on Sunday but also had to refuse the request due to the missing documentation.
Miraculous Outcome and Aftermath
The incredible turn of events occurred while Pairat was explaining the process for obtaining a death certificate. It was at this precise moment that the faint knocking was heard from the coffin.
Temple staff immediately assessed the woman's condition and arranged for her transfer to a nearby hospital in Nonthaburi province. In a remarkable display of compassion, the temple abbot declared that the institution would cover all of her medical expenses.
This extraordinary case highlights the critical importance of proper medical certification and has left the local community in awe of what many are calling a true miracle.
