- RUSSIA -- Alexander Nakonechny
triumphed at a vodka drinking marathon in Russia after guzzling three half-litre
mugs of vodka in quick succession, but failed to collect his prize after
dying on the spot.
-
- The weekend contest in the southwestern city of Volgodonsk
also left four other male contestants fighting for their lives at the local
hospital, although one woman who took part managed to stagger out of the
clinic a few hours after being rushed there for an emergency stomach pump.
-
- In an alcohol-hardened nation where it is not uncommon
for Russian men to down a litre of the liquid on a night out, Nakonechny's
feat of winning the contest - which earned him a prize of ten bottles of
vodka - should have been cause for celebration.
-
- But prosecutors in Volgodonsk have slapped charges of
causing death through negligence on the organisers of the drinking competition,
the managers of a local food and drink shop, who face three years in jail
if convicted.
-
- "If we can find the grounds to charge them with
causing death by flouting their professional duties or if another person
dies as a result of this marathon, they will face up to five years in prison,"
Volgodonsk's deputy prosecutor general Sergei Lubenets told AFP.
-
- He added that the organisers could also be charged with
breaking the law on advertising, which forbids staging events which promote
the consumption of alcohol.
-
- The participants of the event, which took place in the
shop, were invited to down half-litre glasses of the Russian national drink
and refill as much as they could from buckets filled to the brim.
-
- News of the "Vodka Marathon" spread across
the city and 50 people queued up outside the shop for the chance to down
a free mug of vodka and try their luck at outdrinking the others.
-
- The rules allowed them to accompany the vodka, as is
traditional in Russia, with sausage, black bread and mustard.
-
- The person who drank the most and managed to stay on
his feet was to be declared the winner.
-
- Nakonechny soon left the other contestants behind but
within minutes of his victory collapsed and died, joining the other 40,000
Russians who die each year from alcohol poisoning.
-
- Copyright 2003 News Limited.
-
- http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7921747%255E1702,00.html
|
