A 22-year-old man is fighting for his life in hospital after swallowing an entire burger as part of a challenge during a meal with friends.
The young man is in the intensive care unit of G. Gennimatas Hospital in Koropi, Greece, where he remains in critical condition.
Michalis Giannakos, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers (POEDHN), said: “He can only be saved by a miracle, he is in a very critical condition.”
Giannakos also wondered how it was possible for a young person to swallow an entire burger without chewing.
He added, “Even if he is given first aid, a doctor’s intervention is needed because if the brain is left without oxygen, irreparable damage is done.”
The family denied claims that he had taken part in a challenge. However, according to witnesses, the young man had gone out for dinner with his friends and tried to eat the entire burger as quickly as possible.
Police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglidou said authorities would request footage from the restaurant to determine whether anyone had encouraged him to undertake the dangerous act.
Matina Pagoni, former president of the Doctors’ Association of Athens-Piraeus Hospital, said the young men had made a bet to swallow whole hamburgers, blocking the 22-year-old’s airways.
She added: “These are tragic circumstances.
“A 22-year-old young man who just went to Koropi to have some fun is now intubated and in extremely critical condition, with very serious problems affecting his brain, kidneys and all his organs.”
Earlier this year, a man was in ‘absolute agony’ after guzzling three kilos of Haribo coke bottles in three days.
Nathan Rimmington, 33, chewed his way through a huge amount of sweets, consuming a whopping 11,000 calories on sweets alone.
The £18 bags are normally bought by shop owners to keep their pick’n’mix tubs topped up.
Mr Rimmington, from Barnsley, said his sugar rush left him ‘stuck’ and unable to get out of bed or walk.
After a visit to his GP, it turned out that he had high levels of gelatin in his system, which can cause intestinal problems and in severe cases require surgery.
The incident has put Mr Rimmington off gummies for life, despite a friend buying him a 3kg bag of coke bottles as a joke for his birthday.
The truck company owner was later diagnosed with acute diverticulitis, an infection and inflammation of the colon.
He spent six days in Rotherham Hospital hooked up to a drip to flush the gelatin out of his system.
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