A 17-year-old girl has died after bizarrely choking on a segment of tangerine she was eating.
Victim Gabriela Vieira da Silva was rushed to hospital but she was declared dead on arrival, just one month before her 18th birthday.
She reportedly died after choking on a piece of tangerine in the municipality of Pontalina, in the Brazilian state of Goias, on Tuesday, 27th June.
Her parents, who have not been named, drove Gabriella to the Elias Aguiar e Silva Municipal Hospital in the municipality of Edealina, some 31 kilometres (19.2 miles) away from the family home.
She was due to celebrate her 18th birthday on 27th July.
The Pontalina City Council mourned the young woman’s death and said: “We sympathise with her family and her friends, wishing that they find strength and comfort to endure and overcome this moment of loss.”
The police are investigating the incident and have confirmed that Gabriela choked on a piece of fruit and arrived at the hospital unconscious.
Figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics show that an average of 351 people die every year in the UK as a result of choking.
