A startling event unfolded in Thailand when a woman, presumed deceased, began showing signs of life at a temple just before her scheduled cremation.

In an unexpected turn of events at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple located in Nonthaburi near Bangkok, staff were taken aback by a video circulating on Facebook. The footage depicted a woman inside a white coffin, her arms and head making slight movements within the confines of a pick-up truck, leaving onlookers astonished.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Pairat Soodthoop, who manages general and financial affairs at the temple, shared details about the incident. He explained that the 65-year-old woman had been transported by her brother from Phitsanulok province for cremation.

Amid the preparations, a faint knocking sound emerged from the coffin.

“The sound caught us off guard, prompting me to request the coffin be opened,” Pairat recounted. “To our surprise, she was slightly opening her eyes and knocking. It seemed she had been trying to get our attention for quite a while.”

According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for about two years, when her health deteriorated and she became unresponsive, appearing to stop breathing two days ago. The brother then placed her in a coffin and made the 300-mile journey to a hospital in Bangkok, to which the woman had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs.

The hospital refused to accept the brother’s offer as he didn’t have an official death certificate, Pairat said. His temple offers a free cremation service, which is why the brother approached them on Sunday, but was also refused due to the missing document.

The temple manager said that while he was explaining how to get a death certificate when they heard the knocking. They then assessed her and sent her to a nearby hospital.

The abbot said the temple would cover her medical expenses, according to Pairat.