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A 37-year-old mother of two, Natalie Buss, died after taking part in a marshmallow-eating competition at a South Wales rugby club fundraiser. This incident took place on Saturday, October 7, 2023. During the marshmallow challenge, she fitted seven squishy sweets in her mouth and choked herself to death.
Witnesses said that Natalie was invited on stage as she won a Bingo competition at the event. As she went on the stage, the squishy sweet competition was taking place, and she was laughing while taking part in the competition.
Natalie started fitting the squishy sweets in her mouth, and while doing it, she was laughing. However, this soon turned into a horror as she collapsed on the stage, and immediately, a medically trained audience rushed to help her out.
One of the witnesses present there said,
"The DJ was counting as each marshmallow went into her mouth. I think he got to seven. She was laughing at the same time, and it was like she sucked the marshmallows further into her mouth."
The witness further said,
"One minute everyone was enjoying themselves and whooping, the next, she was on the floor. It was dreadful. First-aiders went forward to help, and someone said they had gone for the defibrillator on the wall of a school opposite."
It is worth noting that the fundraiser was for the club’s under-tens team, the Bulldogs. One of the players on the team was Natalie's son, and thus, she went there for the fundraiser.
What is the marshmallow challenge? Know all about it
This is not the first time someone has died due to this challenge. Earlier in 2019, Mia Austin and two of her friends tried this challenge and passed away after doing so.
The Mirror reported that Austin had a locked-in syndrome, and she died after fitting as many squishy sweets in her mouth as she could.
In this challenge, a person needs to fit as many marshmallows as possible in their mouth, and the one with the most squishy sweets in their mouth wins the challenge. However, this challenge has been termed dangerous as it has claimed the lives of people in the recent past.
Beddau Rugby Club released a statement about Natalie's marshmallow accident
Beddau Rugby Club released a statement about Natalie's accident. In the statement, they said,
"On Saturday night we lost a very dear friend who will be sadly missed. Everybody associated with Beddau RFC and within the community are nothing less than devastated at the weekend's tragic accident and we struggle to comprehend the sense of loss people are feeling."
It was further mentioned in the statement,
"This said, we must acknowledge that our loss pales into insignificance in comparison to the loss of a lady who was a wonderful wife, mother and daughter to what was an absolutely tragic turn of events."
Police are currently investigating this case. Moreover, the family of Natalie is waiting for the results of a post-mortem.
