Australian woman dies in lamington eating contest
Canberra: A woman has died in Australia while taking part in a contest to eat as many lamingtons — a traditional sponge cake covered in chocolate and desiccated coconut — as possible, it was reported on Monday.
The woman, aged 60, is reported to have had a seizure during the event at a hotel in Hervey Bay, Queensland, to mark Australia Day on Sunday, the BBC said in a report.
She was given CPR at the scene and taken to hospital but later died.
Witnesses said the woman had crammed one of the cakes into her mouth when she appeared to get into difficulties.
Footage has emerged showing other patrons of the pub cheering on the eaters, who have glasses of water next to them, before the accident.
The Beach House Hotel in Hervey Bay posted a message on Facebook expressing condolences to the family and friends of the woman, who has not been named.
Eating competitions are a popular game during Australia Day, a national holiday marking the arrival of the first Europeans to Australia.
Contestants usually win prizes for eating as many cakes, pies, hot dogs or other food in a limited time. (IANS)
Seven WWII bombs made safe at Tesla’s German factory site
Frankfurt Am Main: German police on Sunday said experts had safely defused seven World War II bombs found on the future location of Tesla’s first European factory, just outside Berlin.
The defusing operation was completed “without any problems”, a police spokesman told DPA news agency. The bombs in question were relatively small and dropped by the US air force during the war.
Some 75 years after the war, Germany remains littered with unexploded ordnance, often uncovered during construction work. Electric car pioneer Tesla last week agreed to buy a 300-hectare plot of land in Gruenheide, east of Berlin, for 40.9 million euros (USD 45.5 million).
The site will become home to the US tech firm’s first “Gigafactory” in Europe. Tesla said it plans to begin churning out the firm’s Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan as soon as 2021, ultimately producing 500,000 cars per year.
While many local officials and residents have welcomed the thousands of jobs set to be created in the region, the project has sparked controversy because of its location in a wooded area. Critics claim the planned deforestation will be harmful to local wildlife and could endanger the drinking water supply. (AFP)