Temple staff stunned to hear knocking from inside coffin brought in for cremation

A 65-year-old Thai woman believed to be dead stunned temple staff in Bangkok when they heard a faint knocking from inside her coffin after her brother brought her in for cremation.

Pairat Soodthoop, general and financial affairs manager at the Wat Rat Prakhong Tham temple, told The Associated Press on Monday that he was discussing cremation with the woman’s brother when they heard the noise coming from inside the coffin.

“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” he said. “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 Buddhist temple in Nonthaburi province, outside Bangkok, posted a Facebook video showing a woman in a white coffin in the back of a pickup truck moving her arms and head, leaving staff stunned.

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In this Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, photo, an emergency rescue team transports an elderly woman discovered to still be alive after being considered deceased to a local hospital before her scheduled cremation at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham temple, Nonthaburi province, Thailand. (Wat Rat Prakhong Tham )

Pairat said the woman’s brother had driven her from Phitsanulok province to be cremated.

In video posted by the temple, the woman could be seen slightly moving her arms and head from inside the coffin. (Wat Rat Prakhong Tham )

Pairat said the brother explained that his sister had been bedridden for about two years before her health declined and she appeared to stop breathing two days earlier. Believing she was dead, he placed her in a coffin and made the 300-mile trip to a Bangkok hospital, where she had wished to donate her organs.

Pairat Soodthoop said staff at the temple were shocked when they heard a faint knocking from inside the coffin. (Wat Rat Prakhong Tham )

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The hospital, however, refused to accept the woman without an official death certificate, Pairat said. The brother then turned to the temple on Sunday, which offers free cremations, but was also turned away for lacking the document.

While Pairat was explaining how to obtain the certificate, they heard knocking from the coffin. Staff opened it, confirmed she was alive and sent her to a nearby hospital.

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.