It seems sometimes the stuff of nightmares actually become reality after one woman who was thought to be dead 'came back to life' just a matter of moments before her own cremation.
In a beyond bizarre turn of events, Bujji Aamma, from Berhampur, India, was believed to have passed away after sustaining severe burns in a house fire earlier this month (1 February).
The 52-year-old was rushed to the MKCG Medical College hospital with burns covering 50 per cent of her body and she later returned back home where she remained in a bad state following the fire.
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A few days had then passed and Aamma still hadn't opened her eyes, and her family were unable to afford to get her the help she needed at another hospital following her initial visit.
Her husband, Sibaram Palo, 54, was reportedly under the impression his wife had died and made the arrangements to have what he thought was her lifeless body taken to a cremation ground in a hearse.
Speaking to Times of India, he recalled: "We thought she was dead and informed others in the locality to arrange a hearse van to carry the body to the cremation ground."
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A local resident who accompanied Aamma in the hearse, K Chiranjibi, said they had almost completed assembling the funeral pyre when the woman seemingly rose from the dead.
"Just then, Bujji opened her eyes and responded to our calls, which shocked us," Chiranjibi, 50, said. "Initially, we were scared, as we had never seen such an incident, though we had heard some stories."
He added: "When we confirmed she was alive, we again informed the ward corporator to send the same vehicle to take her home."
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The driver of the hearse, Khetrabashi Sahu, said he took the woman from her home around 9 am on Monday morning (12 February).
However, after about half-an-hour, he was again asked to return to the cremation ground, recalling: "We took her back home in the same vehicle."
According to the outlet, a source in the crematorium said local people do not need a death certificate to perform the last rites of a family member but it is mandatory for outsiders.
As shocking as this is, this is by no means the first time something like this has happened before as one 76-year-old woman from Ecuador had a lucky escape after she was found to be alive just before she would have been laid to rest in her coffin.
Rhiannon Ingle