'Fire eater' dies after collapsing during act at event attended by MP CM

District Congress working president Anish Khan said that it was unfortunate that a man lost his life while performing a stunt to draw people for the chief minister’s programme.

A stuntman, required to keep diesel in his mouth and spit it out at a lit torch to create a burst of flame and the illusion he was eating fire, collapsed during the act at an event organised by a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district and died soon after.

The incident occurred in Naugaon on Saturday, BJP leader Manik Chourasia said, adding that he had invited Kabir Singh and his team to perform at the event attended by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

"Kabir Singh complained of pain in his chest and was immediately taken to the Naugaon hospital, where doctors said it was a case of consumption of flammable substance," Mr. Chourasia told PTI.

Doctors at Naugaon referred the 45-year-old to a hospital in Chhatarpur, about 20 km away, but he died before reaching there, he said.

Aditya Katiyar, an associate of the deceased, said a team of nine people, including Singh, was called from Kanpur by Mr. Chourasia for the event.

As part of the fire stunt, Singh had to keep some diesel in his mouth to later spit it out at a lit torch to create a burst of flame. However, he soon began feeling uneasy and was taken to Naugaon hospital, he said.

The team was later informed that he died, Katiyar added.