The 76-year-old Ecuadorian who woke up during her memorial service and had to be taken out from inside her coffin by her relatives leading to a flurry of activity and confusion, died of a stroke on Friday. The woman presumed dead woke up five hours into her memory service and began knocking inside her coffin.
Ecuador's health ministry stated that doctors had declared retired nurse Bella Montoya dead after a possible stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest. Despite resuscitation efforts, she did not respond, leading to the belief that she had passed away.
"This time my mother really did die, my life will not be the same," Gilberto Barbera, Montoya's son was quoted saying. The state Health Ministry has ordered a probe into how she was declared dead in error the first time.
Woman died of ischemic stroke
Ecuador's health ministry confirmed in a statement that Bella Montoya died from an ischemic stroke after spending a week in intensive care. It added that Montoya had remained under "permanent surveillance," but didn't provide further information on the medical investigation surrounding the case.
Barbera Montoya said that he hadn't yet received any report from the authorities on the medical explanation of what happened and warned that things "are not going to stay like this".
He added that a sister of the deceased woman had formally complained about the incident, seeking to identify the doctor who declared her dead to begin with.
Bella Montoya reportedly woke up and started knocking on June 9 after spending five hours inside her coffin at a funeral home in Babahoyo, about 208 kilometers (about 129 miles) southwest of Quito.
The remains of Montoya, who was a retired nurse, are back at the same funeral home where she woke up. Her son told the AP that she will be buried at a public cemetery.
A technical committee has been formed to review how the hospital issues death certificates, the country's ministry of health said last week.
(with inputs from AP)
