Student dies during competitive-eating event

A student died just as he was about to win a university binge-eating contest, officials said Friday.

The 23-year-old man vomited, passed out and died on Thursday during the "Big Stomach King" contest at Dayeh University in central Taiwan. He had pulled ahead of 30 other teams.

Officials said the student — who was described as tall and strong — had scoffed two buns filled with rice and cheese as well as some of his teammate's food.

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"I can't say why he died," said Huang Te-hsiang, the university's dean of student affairs. "He had been in the contest before. He was a strong guy."

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The graduate student, surnamed Chen, may have eaten too fast rather than too much, a campus publicist said. Chen was on course to win the annual competition, she said. He would have won $60.

Taiwan's education ministry has halted campus-based eating contests while an investigation is launched.