A 22-year-old who was hospitalised after competing in a viral burger challenge has reportedly died, according to local news reports.
The Greek man, who remains anonymous, is said to have collapsed at a restaurant in Koropi, a town southeast of Athens, while out with friends.
Matina Pagoni, former president of the Athens Union of Public Hospital Doctors (EINAP) and an infectious disease specialist, reported that the citizen had a bet to ‘swallow an entire burger’, but the event turned ‘tragic’ when the man’s airways suddenly became blocked.
On Thursday (20 November), News 24/7 stated that the young man, originally from Thessaloniki, had suffered irreversible organ damage due to oxygen deprivation.
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The outlet reported he died of his injuries in Athens General State Hospital in Attica.
Reports previously claimed that the unnamed person was potentially taking part in a one-bite burger trend, popular on YouTube with fast-food customers.
However, the victim’s friend said that this was not the case, explaining: “Look. If you want to call it something, call it a joke.”
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Authorities have also since emphasised that the ‘tragic’ incident was not the result of a social media stunt.
Recounting the incident, the unnamed man’s friend said that after stuffing the burger into his mouth, he had ‘something like a panic attack’.
“He gets up and runs a bit further away. We thought he was going to spit it out and didn't want to make a mess around others.
“He didn't do that. He makes a move to come back and then goes away again to spit it out. We thought, ‘Okay, now it's coming.’ That didn't happen either.”
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An ambulance was called to the scene at 2:16 pm, with paramedics working to remove the food item blocking the man’s airways.
After being rushed to the ICU, doctors reported to the person’s parents that he’d possibly been without oxygen for three minutes, likely sustaining brain and kidney damage.
Pagoni informed viewers of the Greek programme, To Proino, on Thursday that the man - who was only in the Koropi area visiting friends after working a summer season in Kos - ‘did not make it’.
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According to a study published in the European Journal of Translation Myology, in the USA, of over 76,000 deaths from choking, in adults over 65 years of age, 6.5 percent of deaths were classified as food choking.
The paper added that since not all choking episodes end up in the emergency room or become fatalities, they often escape statistics.
To prevent choking, Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends cutting food into small pieces, chewing food slowly and thoroughly, and not drinking alcohol before or during meals.
Ella Scott