A 52-year-old Indian woman from Berhampur reportedly made a startling return to consciousness moments before she was to be cremated.

Bujji Aamma was in her residence in a Feb. 1 fire that left burns across half her body. She was rushed to a hospital, then returned home and remained in critical condition.

Days later, Ms. Aamma‘s condition deteriorated further to the point where she ceased to show signs of consciousness. Due to financial constraints, her family didn’t seek further medical assistance.

Her husband, Sibaram Palo, was under the impression she died, so commenced the customary preparations for her last rites. “We assumed she was no more and alerted our neighbors to help transport what we believed to be her mortal remains to the cremation site,” Mr. Palo recounted to the Times of India.

However, an eyewitness identified as K Chiranjibi noticed Ms. Aamma regaining consciousness.

“At first, we were filled with terror as such an occurrence was beyond our experiences, though we were somewhat aware of similar accounts,” Mr. Chiranjibi told the Times.

In a swift response to the bewildering situation, the hearse driver who took her to the crematorium returned her home, very much alive.

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