'Santa Claus' dies in front of children at Christmas party
WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: A Russian performer, dressed in a Santa Claus costume, has reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack while playing with a group of kindergarten students in Siberia.
The Russian Santa, known locally as Ded Moroz and Father Frost, was energetically running around a room with a group of excitable children when he came to a sudden halt and collapsed to the ground.
Video of the incident shows the children then running towards him, under the impression it is part of the game before another performer rushes to his aid.
The man inside the suit, Valery Titenko, a well known actor in the city of Moscow, had suffered a fatal heart attack, reports Australscope.
“The man felt ill in the kindergarten, he was taken in an ambulance but died on the way to the hospital,” a medical source said, according to the Moscow Times.
A spokesperson at the Musical Theatre of Kuzbass, where Mr Titenko had performed, told local media that the 67-year-old had previously undergone complicated heart surgery and was experiencing some chest pains on the day of the event.
It’s understood he was given the day off but insisted on attending the children’s Christmas party.
It is tradition in Russia that Santa gives presents to children at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
