The woman who died at her own funeral
A Russian woman survives a presumably fatal heart attack — only to die from the shock of waking up in her own casket
A Russian woman who had been pronounced dead suddenly awoke in a casket two days later during her own funeral in Kazan, Russia. The shock killed her, says Britain's Daily Mail. Here, a brief guide to this sad, bizarre case:
How did this happen?
Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov, 49, collapsed at her home with chest pains. Doctors at a hospital in Kazan, Russia, told her husband Fagill, 51, that she'd suffered a massive heart attack, and was dead. The family gathered for her funeral two days later, and, as grieving relatives filed past the open casket, the "dead" woman's eyes fluttered, and opened.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Did she realize what was going on?
Apparently, yes. She heard mourners praying for her soul to go to heaven. Realizing where she was, she started screaming. "We immediately rushed her back to the hospital," says her widower, as quoted by Austrian Times, "but she only lived for another 12 minutes in intensive care before she died again, this time for good."
What will the family do now?
The hospital has launched an investigation into how the doctors could have been so wrong. Fagili Mukhametzyanov says he plans to sue. "I'm very angry and want answers," he says, as quoted by Austrian Times. "She wasn't dead when they said she was and they could have saved her." It's hard to imagine such a shock, says Zack Oleson at Scallywag & Vagabond. "I'm surprised Mr. Mukhametzyanov didn't die of shock himself."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sources: Daily Mail, Austrian Times, Scallywag & Vagabond
-
Senate GOP selects Thune, House GOP keeps Johnson
Speed Read John Thune will replace Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader, and Mike Johnson will remain House speaker in Congress
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Patriot: Alexei Navalny's memoir is as 'compelling as it is painful'
The Week Recommends The anti-corruption campaigner's harrowing book was published posthumously after his death in a remote Arctic prison
By The Week UK Published
-
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: a 'magical' show with 'an electrifying emotional charge'
The Week Recommends The 'vivacious' Fitzgerald adaptation has a 'shimmering, soaring' score
By The Week UK Published