A woman in South America was pulled out of a bodybag after being mistakenly pronounced dead.

Gladys Rodríguez de Duarte had been sent to a funeral home in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, and her family had been told that she had died.

The 46-year-old had gone to a clinic complaining of high blood pressure but just two hours later she was pronounced dead.

However, according to police reports, staff at the funeral home later found that she was in fact very much alive.

Mrs Duarte was reportedly admitted to the San Fernando clinic at 9.30am on Saturday (11 April) where she was cared for by a Dr Heriberto Vera, who pronounced her dead less than two hours later at 11.20am.

Dr Vera cited ‘CA of the uterus’ as the cause of death and later employed the services of Duarte e Hijos funeral home to pick up the body.

However, staff at the funeral home later discovered that Mrs Duarte was still breathing and she was then transferred to the Institute of Social Security (ISS) before being moved to the intensive care unit of a local hospital.

Mrs Duarte’s husband Maximino Duarte Ferreira has now lodged a complaint regarding the medical care his wife received.

Speaking to Paraguayan television network TV Aire, Mr Duarte said: “He (Dr Vera) assumed she was dead and handed her naked to me like an animal with her death certificate. He didn’t even revive her.

“We trusted him, that’s why we went there. But they disconnected her and passed her off to the funeral home.”

Dr Catalino Fabio is the director of the hospital where Mrs Duarte is being cared for, and he has assured people that she is in a stable condition.

The facts of the case have also been sent to the Prosecutor’s Office and an investigation is being opened.