Woman chokes to death during Australia Day lamington eating contest
An Australia Day contest has gone horribly wrong after a woman participating in an all-you-can-eat lamington contest died after reportedly inhaling coconut.
The Queensland Ambulance Service told Yahoo News the 60-year-old woman was rushed to Hervey Bay hospital as paramedics performed CPR on her for 30 minutes but they were unable to save her.
The event was held at the Beach House Hotel in Hervey Bay on Sunday as part of the Australia Day celebrations, which also included a meat pie eating contest.
A woman who was reportedly at the pub at the time posted about the incident on social media, describing it as a “very sad day”.
“Australia Day in Hervey Bay... sadly a lady died during the lamington eating competition,” the woman wrote on her Facebook page.
The participants were reportedly required to eat as many lamingtons as possible within a short time frame, which led to contestants ‘shovelling’ the cake into their mouths.
“This lady shovelled the lamington into her mouth with no restraint... inhaled the coconut and arrested,” she wrote.
According the the witness, the staff at the pub responded quickly and called emergency services.
Yahoo News Australia contacted the Beach House Hotel for comment, no managers were available to comment on the incident at the time of publication.
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