Doctor who 'died' for 30 minutes after accident describes death experience

A doctor who "died" for 30 minutes after a 1999 kayak accident in Chile has described her near-death experience in a new Netflix docuseries.

Surviving Death tells the stories of people who have had near-death experiences and what happens to them when they "die" for a short period of time.

One of these stories is that of Dr. Mary Neal, 62, from New York, who was submerged under a kayak for 24 minutes, leaving her brain completely starved of oxygen.

Watch the trailer for Surviving Death below: 

Per The Sun, the mom-of-four said: "I was not breathing. My torso was absolutely plastered to the front deck of the boat and I could feel my bones breaking.

"I thought, 'I should be screaming' but I wasn't. I felt no pain, no fear, no panic. I felt more alive than I've ever felt.

"I could feel my spirit peeling away from my body, and my spirit went up towards the heavens. I was immediately greeted by a group of... somethings. I don't know what to call them. People? Spirits? Beings?

"I didn't recognize any of them, but they had been important in my life somehow, like a grandparent who died before I was born.

"They were so overjoyed to welcome me and greet me and love me."

Neal said that what she experience was a "shift in time and dimension".

She said she was led by the "beings" down a path covered in flowers that were "every color of the universe."

Neal said: "I experienced all of eternity in every second and every second expanded into all of eternity.

"The pathway went to this great dome structure and I believe I was in heaven. I had an overwhelming sense of being home."

The group spent 15 minutes attempting to save the doctor's life before switching into "body recovery mode."

She explained: "One of the guys saw my life jacket pop up downstream and thought that maybe my husband would want it.

"As he got that he felt my body touch his leg and was able to reach under the water and grab my wrist.

"My body was bloated and purple and I had fixed eyes. There's no doubt in my own mind that I was physically dead, but I watched from the entrance to the dome structure as they started CPR and I could still hear them."

As she floated in the water, she recalls the kayakers attempting to save her life.

She added: "I had been without oxygen for 30 minutes and the statistical likelihood of my survival should have been zero.

"I did not want to go back down to my body. I had a very physical sensation of being held and comforted and reassured that everything was fine, but the beings told me that it wasn't my time, that I had more work to do on Earth and that I had to go back to my body.

"When I opened my eyes the guys who resuscitated me were stunned."

Surviving Death is currently available to stream on Netflix.