A Chinese vlogger has died as a result of swallowing a number of centipedes and geckos on camera as part of a drinking game.
The 35-year-old blogger, who goes by the surname Sun, was found dead in his apartment in the city of Hefei, in the Aunhui province of China, on Saturday, July 20, after his girlfriend went to check in on him.
Sun was a popular content creator on the Chinese live-streaming platform DuYuo, boasting over 15,000 followers. He had been filming himself playing a drinking game, according to Xinan Evening News.
The game consisted of Sun spinning a wheel on camera, which was marked with various unpleasant items. Depending on what the spinner landed on, Sun would be forced to ingest either a shot or various creepy-crawlies, including centipedes, geckos, mealworms, vinegar and raw eggs.
Sun's last live-streaming session was on Thursday, at 7.53 pm. When police finally arrived, the camera was still rolling, and Sun had passed away, with the food items used in his streaming sessions still on the desk in his room. Authorities have ruled out foul play, but are investigating the cause of death. His videos have since been removed from the platform.
This isn't the first time that a man has died after eating geckos. Earlier this month, an Australian man named David Dowell perished after he swallowed one of the small lizards as part of a bet during a Christmas party in December of 2018.
Dowell was rushed to hospital after experiencing excruciating pains the next day, as well as diarrhoea, stomach cramps and a high fever. He was initially diagnosed with gastroenteritis, but doctors later determined that he had contracted the salmonella virus.
David's sister Hannah has contested that the dare was the cause of death, telling The Brisbane Times: "It was a dare, so he might have intended to eat it and then thrown it away. At the end of the day, we don't know whether he actually ate the gecko. David never mentioned it."
