14-year-old boy dies after eating spicy Paqui chip under ‘One Chip Challenge’ in US: Report

livemint.com:

NBCBoston.com. Harris Wolobah, the teenager died on Friday, hours after he took part in the “One Chip Challenge". According to the Challenge, participants had to munch on supposedly one of the spiciest tortilla chips in the world and film themselves having it to document how long they can go on eating it without drinking or eating anything for relief.

The chip is made by Paqui. It comes in a coffin container with a warning that it should be kept away from children and is only for adults to eat, and should not be eaten by anyone who is sensitive to spicy food or with an allergen. The report citing his family said that Harris’ death was caused by complications from eating an extremely spicy chip.

The Worcester school community was mourning Harris, a sophomore at Doherty Memorial High School, the NBCBoston report said citing Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Rachel Monárrez’s statement. According to a Paqui web page for the One Chip Challenge, anyone who has difficulty in breathing, faints or has extended nausea is required to seek medical assistance. Harris’ mother, Lois Walobah, told NBC10 Boston that “she was called to the school by a nurse on Friday and that her son had told him a classmate gave him the chip, leaving him with a bad stomach ache." Harris felt better after they went home, but later when he was about to leave for basketball tryouts, he passed out, she said, as per the report.

He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was not known and the autopsy report is awaited. The Worcester police was investigating the teenager’s death.