大象传媒

Mourners at the funeral of an elderly Ecuadorean woman were startled to discover she was still alive.

Bella Montoya, 76, was declared dead last week following a suspected stroke.

However, five hours into her wake, relatives preparing to change her clothes ahead of the burial found her gasping for air.

Ms Montoya is now back in hospital in intensive care and Ecuador's health ministry has set up a committee to investigate the incident.

Cristina Munoz is a journalist in the capital Quito. She told Newsday: 鈥淗er coffin began to rattle so they opened the coffin鈥�they found a weak but alive woman struggling to breathe鈥�A new fear has been unlocked for Ecuadorians with this story.鈥�

(Picture: Shows a file photo of a coffin. Credit: Getty Images.)