'Dead' woman opens eyes minutes before cremation in Berhampur, Odisha; Family pleasantly shocked

It was gathered that the woman died in a fire incident at home and was being carried to a cremation ground when this incident took place.

Berhampur, Odisha: They say, and rightly so, that things happen when they are meant to. This saying once again proved true when a 52-year-old woman in Odisha, presumed dead, opened her eyes just before the pyre was to be set on fire.

The woman was believed to have died in a fire incident at home and was being carried to a cremation ground when the incident took place in Berhampur town of southern Ganjam district, her family said on Tuesday.

Relatives of the woman who live in Goods Shed Road admitted her to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital, hours after she returned home from the cremation ground late on Monday evening.

According to reports, the woman belongs to a poor family and suffered over 50 percent burns on February 1 when a fire broke out in her house and she was admitted to the same hospital.

However, when the hospital authorities referred her to another medical facility, her husband took her home due to lack of funds. She has been struggling with her life ever since, family sources say.

“On Monday she didn't open her eyes and it looked like she wasn't breathing. We thought she might have died. We then informed others in the area,” said Sibaram Palo, her husband.

Without consulting a doctor or attempting to obtain a death certificate, he took the 'body' to the nearby cremation ground in Bijipur in a Berhampur Municipal Corporation hearse.

“The pyre was almost ready when she suddenly opened her eyes. We were shocked at first, but when we started calling her, she responded. It is a miracle,” said Palo's neighbor K Chiranjibi who accompanied the family members to the cremation ground.

The local corporator was informed and the same hearse was used to take her home.

She was later admitted to hospital again.

(With PTI inputs)