A 15-year-old girl in Guatemala has reportedly regained consciousness inside a coffin during her funeral, leaving family members and mourners stunned after they had presumed her dead.
The teenager, identified as Yuleidy Ixcotoyac, reportedly collapsed while her father, Abraham Ixcotoyac, an evangelical pastor, was driving her to a medical centre.
According to a report by The Sun, her father stopped the vehicle to check her condition but believed she had died after he could neither detect her pulse nor observe signs of breathing.
“I saw that she was no longer breathing and I couldn’t feel her pulse on her wrists. It was a very difficult situation for me. She did not go to hospital,” he reportedly told local media.
The family subsequently made funeral arrangements without a doctor confirming her death or an official death certificate being issued.
About eight hours after the teenager collapsed, relatives and mourners gathered at the family home in the rural village of El Jocote for the wake.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn when her mother, Lesvia Ríos, reportedly noticed movement as she leaned over the coffin to mourn her daughter.
“I kept saying she was alive; she wasn’t dead,” Ríos said, according to local media reports.
She explained that she noticed her daughter moving after opening the coffin’s window, adding that the teenager suddenly sat up.
Footage of the incident, which has circulated on social media, reportedly shows Yuleidy moving inside the coffin before sitting upright as shocked mourners watched.
Family members subsequently helped her out of the coffin and offered her water, while those present reportedly shouted “hallelujah” in celebration.
Recounting the moments before she lost consciousness, Yuleidy said she experienced severe chest pain.
“My heart started hurting really badly, it felt heavy and then I blacked out, like I fainted,” she reportedly said.
The teenager was said to be conscious and recovering at home following the incident.
She also expressed gratitude to God for surviving the ordeal.
The incident has generated widespread reactions on social media, with some users describing her survival as a miracle, while others expressed concern about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Questions have also emerged over how the teenager’s death was presumed without medical confirmation and what caused her sudden collapse.
