Woman, 70s, placed in refrigerated coffin after family thinks she died, wakes next day but dies 2 days later
A woman in her 70s in China was placed in a refrigerated coffin after her family believed she had died — only for her daughter-in-law to hear faint sounds coming from inside a day later.
The unusual case happened in a village in Hejian, Cangzhou, in Hebei province.
Chinese news outlet Jimu News later verified the incident with villagers and a village official.
The elderly woman had reportedly suffered from a blood clot in the brain for more than 10 years and was also seriously ill.
A village official told Jimu News that she had cancer which had spread throughout her body, and her family had brought her home after doctors said there was little more that could be done for her.
Daughter-in-law heard sounds from coffin
On the night of Sept 8, the woman appeared to have no signs of life and her family believed she had died.
She was then placed in a refrigerated coffin while relatives waited for family members who lived further away to return.
The coffin had been set to refrigeration mode rather than deep-freeze mode, according to the village official.
But on the evening of Sept 9, her daughter-in-law heard faint “humming” or groaning sounds coming from inside the coffin.
The family opened it and found that the elderly woman had regained signs of life.
A relative said that by Sept 11, the woman was able to open her eyes, but remained in extremely poor condition and was unable to eat or drink.
She died later that night and was buried on Sept 13.
Village official says she may have been in a state of ‘apparent death’
The village official said the woman may not have actually died the first time, but instead entered a state resembling death in which her breathing and pulse became extremely weak.
Chinese reports described the phenomenon as “apparent death” or “clinical death”, in which a person’s heartbeat and breathing can become so faint that they may be mistaken for dead.
Health Times, cited by several Chinese outlets, said doctors typically rely on several indicators when determining death, including the absence of a carotid pulse and spontaneous breathing, dilated pupils, signs of oxygen deprivation and a flat electrocardiogram.
The village official added that because the coffin had only been set to refrigeration mode, the woman’s body had not been deeply frozen, allowing her weak vital signs to become apparent again.
The incident came to public attention after a relative posted about it on Douyin on Sept 13.
“A relative of mine from my hometown passed away, but after being placed in a refrigerated coffin for a day, [they] ‘came back to life’,” the post said, according to Jimu News.
The relative said the woman remained conscious for two days before dying again.
The poster added that they had only shared the story out of amazement and did not expect it to attract so much attention online.
Jimu News noted that several other local netizens also posted about the incident, with villagers later corroborating that it had happened.
*This article was produced with AI assistance.
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