不幸! 日本吃饭团大赛一男子竟被噎死!

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

据一位活动组织人员表示，日本一名28岁的男子在一次快速吃饭团大赛中竟然活活噎死。

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.

据在彦根市赞助这项比赛的当地农业协会表示，该未透露名字的男子在发生事故后被送到医院，三天后于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.

该比赛是看选手们能在多快的时间内吃下5个“饭团”--这是用当地生长的大米做成的一种常见的日本美食。

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.

组织方称，这名男子在将第五个饭团塞进嘴里时突然昏倒，之后被迅速送往当地一家医院，后来未能抢救过来。

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.

比赛共分三组进行，每组5个选手。农业协会一名不愿透露姓名的官员称：“第一、第二组的比赛都已完成，在我们观看第三组的比赛时发生了这件事。”

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.

尽管在其他国家常有噎死事件报道，但为了宣传当地的生产和文化，速食比赛在日本不同地区的集会上都非常受欢迎。

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赛比赛冠军是小林尊，他在纽约举办的一年一度的吃热狗大赛中一举成名。

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

在听闻这起噎死事件后，身在纽约的小林尊随即发推文警告业余选手，吃东西不要吃的太多太快。