Those gathered for the funeral of an elderly woman from Ecuador were surprised to discover that the 76-year-old was still alive!

Bela Montoya has been pronounced dead after suffering a stroke, the BBC reports.

But her relatives who gathered to prepare her for her funeral suddenly discovered that she was having difficulty breathing.

The 76-year-old returned to the intensive care unit while Ecuador’s Ministry of Health set up a committee to investigate the incident.

In a statement, the ministry said the woman suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and did not respond to resuscitation efforts.

The doctor on duty confirmed her death.

Her son, Gilber Rodolfo Balberán Montoya, told local media that his mother was “admitted around 09:00 and at noon a doctor told me she died.”

Ms. Montoya was then placed in a coffin for several hours until family members realized she was trying to breathe.

Video posted on social media showed her lying in an open coffin breathing heavily as many people crowded around her.

Paramedics are then seen arriving and tending to Ms Montoya before taking her to a stretcher.

According to AFP her son said: “Little by little, I understand what has happened. Now I am only praying for my mother’s health to improve. I want her to be alive and next to me.”