Woman ‘Buried Alive’ Spent 11 Days Trying to Fight Her Way Out of Coffin
In a tragic and unsettling incident from northeastern Brazil, a woman who was mistakenly buried alive spent 11 agonizing days in her coffin, desperately fighting to free herself.
Rosangela Almeida dos Santos, a 37-year-old woman from the small town of Riachao das Neves, found herself trapped in a nightmare scenario that no one could have ever imagined.
Her tragic tale is one that continues to haunt those who knew her and has left many questioning how something so horrific could have been allowed to happen.
The story began in January 2018, when Rosangela, who had a history of fainting spells and was on anticonvulsant medication, was rushed to the Hospital do Oeste in Barreiras after suffering from severe fatigue.
According to her family, she had fainted before, and they assumed this was just another episode.
However, after being examined, Rosangela was declared dead due to septic shock after two cardiac arrests.
At least, that’s what the doctors and the death certificate stated. Her family, in their grief, said their final goodbyes, holding a wake before her burial.
But, as it turns out, the worst was yet to come.
When Rosangela was buried in a concrete tomb at the municipal cemetery, the events that followed can only be described as a waking nightmare.
What nobody could have known was that she wasn’t dead at all. In fact, she was very much alive, locked inside her coffin, and desperately trying to escape.
The Struggle Inside the Coffin
For 11 long days, Rosangela remained conscious inside the coffin, suffocating and struggling to break free.
According to reports, she screamed, cried, and fought with all her might to free herself. But there was no one around to hear her cries.
The horrific discovery came when residents of the town, who lived near the cemetery, reported hearing faint screams and bangs coming from the tomb.
Initially, they assumed it was the result of children playing around the cemetery.
However, things took a more chilling turn when one woman, Natalina Silva, told the G1 website that she heard groaning sounds and then a final stop after two distinct groans.
“I thought the kids who played in the cemetery were making fun of me.”
“Then I heard her groan twice, and she stopped after those two groans,” Silva recalled, speaking of the eerie moment.
Her suspicions grew, and soon after, the family was alerted to the unsettling noise.
The family, along with locals, gathered at the cemetery, and soon the truth became a horrifying reality.
The tomb was smashed open, and what they discovered inside sent shockwaves through the community.
A Chilling Discovery
When the stone tomb was broken open, a scene that no one could have anticipated unfolded.
Rosangela’s body was found in a disturbing condition.
Blood was found inside the coffin, and her hands and forehead showed clear signs of a desperate struggle.
Her wrists were injured, likely from her attempts to break free.
Her hands were swollen as if she had tried to pry open the lid of the coffin, and scratches and blood were evident on the inside of the coffin.
One of the most telling signs that she had fought for her life was the fact that the nails around the sides of the coffin lid had been pushed upwards.
The heavy, hammered nails that were meant to keep her sealed in had been loosened, further confirming her frantic efforts to escape.
The most haunting detail of all was that Rosangela’s body was still warm when the coffin was opened.
This led some to believe that she might have been alive when they initially buried her.
According to the locals who witnessed the exhumation, many people touched her feet, and everyone was stunned to find that she still had warmth in her body.
Rosangela’s mother, Germana de Almeida, who had been mourning her daughter’s death just days before, described the tragic scene as a nightmare.
She claimed that when the coffin was removed and opened, the injuries to her daughter’s body did not exist at the time of burial.
“She had tried to open the lid, even the nails that had been hammered in were loose,” Germana said through tears.
“Her hands were swollen, as if she had been trying to escape.”
A Frantic Final Struggle
What makes this story even more chilling is the timeline.
Rosangela was buried on January 27, 2018, and it was only on February 7 that her family was alerted to the noises coming from the tomb.
During that time, she fought for survival, likely in complete isolation, without food, water, or any means of communication.
The horror of being buried alive is beyond comprehension, and one can only imagine the terror she must have felt as she struggled against the walls of the coffin.
The fact that her body was still warm when discovered suggests that her fight for survival was not in vain.
The position of her body had shifted inside the coffin, indicating that she had been moving, possibly trying to get air, or even making one last attempt to escape.
It was clear that she was trying to survive, fighting to breathe and break free from the tomb that had become her prison.
In a strange and unsettling twist, cotton wool that had been placed in Rosangela’s ears and nostrils during the embalming process had even been expelled from her body, a disturbing sign that her body had been moving after being sealed inside the coffin.
The Aftermath
When Rosangela was finally exhumed, she was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late.
Despite her body being warm when initially discovered, doctors confirmed that she had been dead for some time.
Her body had endured the trauma of being buried alive, and the injuries sustained from her attempts to escape were clear signs of the horrific ordeal she had faced.
This tragedy has sparked widespread outrage and disbelief.
It raises numerous questions about how such a devastating mistake could have been made.
How could the medical professionals have misjudged her condition? Was there a failure in the process that led to this horrifying incident?
And, more importantly, what can be done to ensure that such a mistake never happens again?
The incident has also had a profound impact on Rosangela’s family.
Her mother, devastated by the loss of her daughter, is now left with more questions than answers.
How could she, as a mother, have been made to believe that her daughter was gone forever?
How could the authorities and medical professionals not have caught this error before it was too late?
In the end, the story of Rosangela Almeida dos Santos is one of unimaginable suffering and loss.
It’s a story that will stay with the people of Riachao das Neves, and with everyone who hears it, for years to come.
