不幸! 日本吃飯糰大賽一男子竟被噎死!

A 28-year-old man died in Japan after choking on a rice ball at a speed-eating contest, an event organiser said Tuesday.

據一位活動組織人員表示，日本一名28歲的男子在一次快速吃飯糰大賽中竟然活活噎死。

The man, whose name was withheld, died on November 16 in hospital three days after choking, said the local farmer's cooperative that sponsored the event in the western city of Hikone.

據在彥根市贊助這項比賽的當地農業協會表示，該未透露名字的男子在發生事故後被送到醫院，三天後於11月16日不幸去世。

Contestants competed to see how fast they could eat five "onigiri" balls of locally grown steamed rice, a popular Japanese comfort food.

該比賽是看選手們能在多快的時間內吃下5個“飯糰”--這是用當地生長的大米做成的一種常見的日本美食。

The man shoved his fifth rice ball into his mouth before passing out and was rushed to a local hospital where he later died, the organiser said.

組織方稱，這名男子在將第五個飯糰塞進嘴裏時突然昏倒，之後被迅速送往當地一家醫院，後來未能搶救過來。

The contest was composed of three sets of five contestants each. "We had the first and the second sets finished and were watching the third group when this happened," said the official at the cooperative, who declined to be named.

比賽共分三組進行，每組5個選手。農業協會一名不願透露姓名的官員稱：“第一、第二組的比賽都已完成，在我們觀看第三組的比賽時發生了這件事。”

Eating contests are popular events at various regional fairs held in Japan to promote local produce and culture, as in other countries where choking deaths have been reported.

儘管在其他國家常有噎死事件報道，但爲了宣傳當地的生產和文化，速食比賽在日本不同地區的集會上都非常受歡迎。

Japan's best known competitive eater is Takeru Kobayashi, who won fame as champion of an annual hot dog eating contest in New York.

日本最有名的美食大賽比賽冠軍是小林尊，他在紐約舉辦的一年一度的吃熱狗大賽中一舉成名。

After news of the latest death was reported, New York-based Kobayashi tweeted warnings about amateurs trying to eat too much too fast.

在聽聞這起噎死事件後，身在紐約的小林尊隨即發推文警告業餘選手，吃東西不要吃的太多太快。