A 15-year-old girl in Guatemala, a country in Central America, has reportedly regained consciousness inside a coffin during her funeral after her family mistakenly 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 reports, her father stopped the vehicle and checked for signs of life, but unable to detect a pulse or observe any breathing, he believed she had died.
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 El Jocote, a rural village in Guatemala, for her wake.
The situation took a dramatic 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 reportedly told local media.
She said the family opened the coffin’s viewing window and noticed that the teenager was moving and beginning to regain consciousness before she suddenly sat up.
Footage of the incident, which has circulated on social media, reportedly shows Yuleidy, dressed in a pink T-shirt, moving inside the coffin before sitting upright as stunned mourners watched.
Family members subsequently helped her out of the coffin and offered her water, while some mourners reportedly shouted “hallelujah” in celebration.
Recounting what happened before she collapsed, Yuleidy said she experienced severe chest pain before losing consciousness.
“My heart started hurting really badly, it felt heavy, and then I blacked out, as I fainted,” she reportedly said.
The teenager is said to be conscious and recovering at home. She also expressed gratitude to God for surviving the ordeal.
The incident has generated widespread reactions on social media, with some users describing it as a miracle, while others have expressed concern over how her death was presumed without medical confirmation.
The circumstances surrounding the teenager’s collapse, the cause of her apparent loss of vital signs, and her subsequent recovery remain unclear.
