A 65-year-old woman in Thailand narrowly avoided cremation after temple staff heard faint knocking sounds coming from inside her coffin, leading to a startling discovery that she was still alive.
The incident unfolded Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok. Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager, was speaking with the woman’s brother about cremation procedures when they detected unusual sounds emanating from the coffin.
“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” Pairat told The Associated Press. “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 woman’s brother had transported her approximately 500 kilometers, or 300 miles, from Phitsanulok province in northern Thailand to Bangkok. According to Pairat, the woman had been bedridden for about two years, and her health had deteriorated significantly. She became unresponsive and appeared to stop breathing on Saturday, prompting her brother to believe she had died.
In what would have been a final act of generosity, the brother first drove to a hospital in Bangkok, where his sister had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs. However, hospital officials refused to accept the woman’s body without an official death certificate, a standard requirement for organ donation and other post-death procedures.
The brother then brought the woman to Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, which offers free cremation services to the community. Temple officials also declined to proceed without the required documentation. As Pairat began explaining the process for obtaining a death certificate, the knocking sounds interrupted their conversation.
The temple posted a video on its Facebook page showing the woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pickup truck. In the footage, she could be seen slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered by the unexpected turn of events.
Once the staff confirmed the woman was alive, the temple abbot immediately ordered that she be transported to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. The temple committed to covering all her medical expenses, according to Pairat’s statements.
Medical professionals at the hospital diagnosed the woman with severe hypoglycemia, a condition characterized by critically low blood sugar levels. This medical emergency can cause a person to lose consciousness and display symptoms that may resemble death to untrained observers. Importantly, doctors ruled out cardiac arrest and respiratory failure as causes of her condition.
Hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose levels drop below normal ranges, typically affecting individuals with diabetes who take insulin or certain medications. However, the condition can also develop in people without diabetes due to prolonged illness, malnutrition, or other metabolic disorders. Severe cases can lead to unconsciousness, seizures, and, if left untreated, potentially life-threatening complications.
The requirement for death certificates before cremation or organ donation serves as a crucial safeguard in medical and funeral procedures. These documents must be issued by licensed medical professionals who have examined the deceased and determined the cause and time of death. The protocol exists to prevent exactly the type of situation that nearly occurred at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham.
This incident highlights the importance of proper medical certification in death determination. In Thailand, as in most countries, legal requirements mandate that only qualified medical professionals can pronounce someone dead and issue the necessary documentation. Family members, regardless of their observations or beliefs about a loved one’s condition, cannot make such determinations.
The woman’s case also underscores how certain medical conditions can mimic death. Throughout medical history, cases of people being mistakenly declared dead have been documented, though they remain relatively rare in modern times due to improved medical training and diagnostic tools. Severe hypoglycemia, as in this case, can significantly slow vital signs to the point where they may be undetectable without proper medical equipment.
Buddhist temples in Thailand often provide free cremation services as part of their charitable work, making them accessible to families who cannot afford private funeral services. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham’s willingness to cover the woman’s medical expenses after the incident reflects the temple’s continued commitment to community welfare beyond its traditional religious functions.
