Woman found dead in coffin during ritual to experience after-death

By Park Sae-jin Posted : August 3, 2018, 18:06 Updated : August 3, 2018, 18:06

[Pixabay]



SEOUL -- A 47-year-old woman was found dead Friday after she stayed overnight in a coffin for a ritual to experience an after-death situation in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave which has killed some 30 people.

According to police, the woman crawled into a coffin in a one-room apartment in Gumi city, some 195 kilometers (121 miles) southeast of Seoul, the previous night and was found dead at 6:30 a.m. (2130 GMT) on Friday.

An autopsy will be conducted, but investigators told reporters that the woman is suspected of dying while sleeping inside the coffin. Two other women who had stayed in the room allegedly said that they were carrying out a religious ritual to experience an after-death situation and ward off bad lucks.

The victim got out of the coffin at the initial state, complaining about respiratory difficulty, but she was persuaded to re-enter the casket and sleep inside, Yonhap news agency said, adding one bystander called police in the morning after she found that the victim was not breathing.

The coffin's lid was not nailed, sparking speculation the victim somehow lost her consciousness and died.


 
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기