Washington: A man inFloridadied after eating dozens of cockroaches and worms during a contest to win a pet python. Edward Archbold, 32, was one of several participants in an insect-eating contest Friday sponsored by the Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach, Florida, 65 km north of Miami, according to local police, reports IANS/RIA Novosti.
Archbold began vomiting shortly after his exploits won him the python. He collapsed outside the store, police inBrowardCountysaid in a statement. Emergency responders took Archbold to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Ben Siegel, owner of the store that held the contest told WPLG-TV he was “very saddened by this”, and added that Archbold was “the life of the party”.
The grand prize in the contest titled “Eat Bugs for Balls” was a female Ivory Ball python worth $850, which Archbold had reportedly planned to sell to a friend.
Meanwhile, Siegel’s attorney said in a statement that the more than 20 participants in the contest had signed a waiver accepting responsibility for their participation in “this unique and unorthodox contest”.
