A 50-year-old woman who ‘died’ for 24 minutes while on a school run has revealed what she felt and saw ‘on the other side’.

Tessa Romero, who has written about book about her haunting experience, says the ordeal has made her no longer afraid of death.

The sociologist, who lives in the south of Spain, was dropping her daughters off at school when she suffered a suspected sudden cardiac arrest.

An ambulance arrived after 24 minutes, Ms Romero recounts in her book ’24-Minutes on the Other Side: Living Without Fear of Death’, adding that she was later told by medics her heart had stopped beating for that entire time. 

She added that doctors were unsure about what had happened: ‘I  heard them talk about… acute myocardial infarction [a heart attack] and sudden cardiac arrest.

‘But there was no consensus. We will never know what really happened.’

Recalling her moments on ‘the other side’, Ms Romero, who had been battling a rare illness at the time says: ‘The first thing I felt was immense peace.

‘For the first time in a long time, there was no more physical or emotional pain – the suffering was over.

Tess Romero, 50, ‘died’ for 24 minutes while on a school run and has revealed what she felt and saw ‘on the other side’

Ms Romero, who has written about book about her haunting experience, says the ordeal has made her no longer afraid of death.

‘I felt profoundly relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted from me. I remember floating above the ceiling, looking down on the scene.

‘I could see the comings and goings of the small clinic I was in – and I could see my young daughters in the waiting room.

‘I saw a body lying there. It was confusing because I wasn’t aware of being dead. I knew I felt alive, awake and conscious.

‘But I didn’t understand why no one was seeing or hearing me.

‘I didn’t believe in these kinds of phenomena [before] – but when I woke up, I knew with absolute certainty that what I had experienced hadn’t been a dream.

‘It was real. Everything around me felt different. I had a very strange feeling, as if the world had been put through an antique filter.

‘It was as if time no longer worked the same way. Everything seemed slower, denser, more charged with meaning.’

Ms Romero had been battling severe ill health for several months prior to the near-death experience.

The sociologist, who lives in the south of Spain, was dropping her daughters off at school when she suffered was was suspected to be a sudden cardiac arrest

Despite numerous medical investigations, they were unable to give her a name for her condition. 

Tessa said: ‘Doctors couldn’t determine exactly what was wrong with me. They ran all kinds of tests, but none of them gave clear answers.

‘My body was failing, and they couldn’t find a concrete cause. It was a very distressing time because I felt worse and worse – and no one could explain why.

‘I have been contacted by surgeons, neurologists, and scientists who study these types of phenomena.

‘Many of them agree on something very revealing – that my illness was probably a physical manifestation of my emotions.

‘At that time, I was going through the most difficult stage of my life.

‘Sometimes, what we fail to let out inside ends up being shouted out by the body outside.’

The experience has changed Tessa’s perspective on life – and death – completely.

Experiences of seeing and hearing things whilst clinically dead do have some scientific basis, according to studies 

‘I felt profoundly relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted from me. I remember floating above the ceiling, looking down on the scene,’ said Ms Romero 

She added: ‘Before, I felt a deep fear of death. I saw it as something dark, uncertain, and painful.

‘After what I experienced, I understood that death is not an end, but a transition.

‘It’s like crossing a door into a place where everything makes sense, where love and peace envelope everything. I’m no longer afraid of it.

‘On the contrary, I feel a profound peace knowing that life continues beyond what we see, that we are not alone, and that we are infinitely loved.’ 

Experiences of seeing and hearing things whilst clinically dead do have some scientific basis.

For years studies have shown the human brain still functions normally for a very brief time after the heart stops, although it appears to have ceased activity on regular scans.

Research has also revealed that the brain can still experience sporadic bursts of activity even after an hour without oxygen, during resuscitation.

Such discoveries have led to some medics calling for an overhaul of the standard practice that rules people should be declared dead after three-to-five minutes of oxygen deprivation to the brain, as these patients could still in theory be resuscitated.

People have previously told MailOnline of out of body experiences such as seeing bright lights at the end of a tunnel or meeting deceased relatives.

Others, meanwhile, have also recalled seeing a heavenly afterlife.

While evidence on something happening in brains after clinical death is still being explored, exactly why so many people have similar experiences remains an issue of contention among experts.

Some theorise that as the brain is undergoing these changes essentially the ‘brakes’ come off the system and this opens our perception to incredibly lucid and vivid experiences of stored memories from our lives.

However, this is only a theory and other experts dispute this.