‘Dead’ woman, 88, wakes up inside her own coffin after coroner’s mistake

An 88 year old woman narrowly avoided being buried alive after being mistakenly declared dead (Image: Getty)

An 88 year old woman narrowly avoided being buried alive, after she “woke up” while her seemingly dead body was being prepared by funeral workers. 

The terrifying situation unfolded in Pilsen, Czechia (more commonly known as the Czech Republic) when the elderly woman appeared to be unresponsive when her partner tried to wake her one morning. 

Fearing the worst, he immediately called emergency services for assistance, but sadly a coroner later went onto declare her legally dead, according to Czech outlet Blesk. 

Following the presumed ‘death’, funeral workers began working on her body in order to prepare it for burial, only to realise that she hadn’t passed away at all and was in fact, very much alive. 

According to various reports, the pensioner appeared to show several signs of life, with some claiming that she opened her eyes when placed in the coffin, while others suggested that the funeral workers were alerted when they noticed her breathing. 

The workers went on to seek help and after it was established that she was indeed alive, the woman was taken to hospital where she is said to be doing well. 

Yet despite the lucky escape from being buried alive, the harrowing ordeal isn’t quite over just yet, as a police investigation is now underway to try and establish how a woman could be mistakenly declared dead, with the coroner under suspicion of failing to offer aid to her condition. 

The company that the coroner belonged to has apologised and insisted there will be consequences for their actions, however no further details have been given about what action may be taken. 

An ambulance spokesman, Martin Štěpán said: “Our operations centre received a call in the early morning hours, during which the operator proceeded in accordance with the valid recommendations of the professional society and the methodology for situations related to the death of a patient. 

“Following this procedure, the entire incident was handed over to the coroner.”

However, after funeral workers spotted the woman was breathing, “the operations centre immediately dispatched emergency medical services to the scene.”

Mr Štěpán then concluded:“The woman's basic life functions were ensured on site and she was subsequently transported to a medical facility.”

A spokeswoman for the police, Michaela Raindlová also weighed in and said that they were “dealing with the reported death of an elderly woman, but it was subsequently discovered that she was alive.”

“We are examining the circumstances of the case. The legal qualification has not yet been determined.”