Guatemalan teenager wakes up inside coffin during her own wake
A 15-year-old girl in Guatemala startled relatives and mourners when she regained consciousness and sat up inside her coffin during her wake. Her family had believed she died after she lost consciousness on the way to a medical centre.
- Yuleidy Ixcotoyac, 15, regained consciousness and sat up inside her coffin during her wake in Guatemala.
- Her father had presumed she was dead after she lost consciousness and appeared to stop breathing.
- The teenager reported severe chest pain before collapsing and was later reported to be recovering at home.
A 15-year-old girl who was presumed dead after losing consciousness while being taken to a medical centre woke up inside her coffin during her wake in the Guatemalan village of El Jocote, in Sacapulas, Quiché, on Saturday, startling relatives and mourners.
Yuleidy Ixcotoyac had reportedly been declared dead by her father, Abraham Ixcotoyac, after he found her unresponsive in his car in the early hours of the morning. However, no doctor had confirmed her death, and no official death certificate was issued, according to report.
The family had bought a coffin and arranged a wake at their home, where relatives, friends and neighbours gathered at about 2.30pm.
Footage of the incident showed Yuleidy, wearing a pink T-shirt, suddenly sitting up inside the coffin as those present reacted with cries of “hallelujah”. Mourners who had gathered to grieve helped her out of the coffin, and the footage subsequently spread on social media.
Mother noticed movement inside the coffin
Yuleidy’s mother, Lesvia Ríos, said she had maintained that her daughter was still alive while grieving beside the coffin.
“I kept saying she was alive; she wasn’t dead,” she told local media, according to The Sun.
“When I was crying on top of her casket, we opened the window and she was moving, she was waking up and suddenly she sat up.”
Marca also reported the mother’s account, describing how she noticed movement after the coffin was opened.
Yuleidy’s father said he had believed his daughter had died after she lost consciousness while he was driving her to a medical centre.
“She left the house unconscious; I was taking her to the hospital. She was not admitted to the hospital. I saw that she was no longer breathing, she no longer had pulses in her arms,” he said.
The Sun quoted him as saying that his daughter “had simply ceased to exist, she died on the way” after he stopped the car.
“I saw that she was no longer breathing and I couldn’t feel her pulse on her wrists,” he said. “It was a very difficult situation for me. She did not go to hospital.”
Girl says she experienced severe chest pain
Yuleidy later described feeling unwell before losing consciousness.
“My heart started hurting too much, I felt it heavy and then I kind of passed out,” she told a local television station.
The Sun reported a similar account from the teenager, who said her heart had started hurting badly and felt heavy before she blacked out.
After regaining consciousness, Yuleidy expressed gratitude to her family and said she was recovering.
“I thank God and my parents because I’m alive. My hands are still shaking, but I’m already regaining my strength,” she said.
She also described the experience as “a miracle”.
Her father likewise attributed her recovery to a miracle.
Health authorities have not commented
Yuleidy was reported to be conscious and recovering at home following the incident.
The circumstances surrounding her apparent loss of consciousness and the subsequent revival were not clarified in the reports. Guatemalan health authorities had not commented on the episode.
The incident drew widespread attention online after footage of the teenager sitting up in her coffin circulated on social media.
