It's truly the stuff of nightmares.
A Greek woman is reported to have been accidentally buried alive after 'dying' of cancer.
A worker at the Peraia cemetery near Thessaloniki told police he heard banging and muffled screams coming from a plot, after the funeral last Thursday.
Despite frantically digging up the coffin containing the 49-year-old woman, she tragically died before rescuers could reach her.
She had previously been declared dead by a doctor who had examined her.
Chrissi Matsikoudi told Greek television channel MEGA: "I just don't believe it. We did several tests including one for heart failure on the body.
"It would have been impossible for someone in a state of rigor mortis to have been shouting and hitting the coffin like that."
The mother of two is not being named until a post-mortem is carried out.
Relatives of the dead woman are reported to be considering taking legal action.