The story of a woman in the United Arab Emirates who woke up from a 27-year-long coma has grabbed international headlines.

The story of Munira Abdulla first ran in Abu Dhabi's The National newspaper on Monday.

The newspaper says in 1991, Abdulla was with her son when a school bus collided with their car. Her son, cradled by his mother before the crash, escaped with a bruise to the head.

Abdulla was 32 at the time. That same son, himself now 32, was quoted saying his mother regained consciousness in a German hospital last year.

A photo shows her in a wheelchair visiting the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, where she now resides.

During her time in hospitals, she was tube-fed and underwent physiotherapy to prevent her muscles deteriorating.