45 yr-old man dies after drinking 6 litres of beer during a contest in Spain

A 'beer drinking king' has died in Spain moments after lifting the trophy of a tournament where participants vie to swill the most pints of lager in 20 minutes.

Spectators in Murcia watched with open mouths as Joaquín Alcaraz Gracia, 45, knocked back six litres of beer in record time last Wednesday.

But their awe turned to horror as he lifted the coveted trophy and immediately began to vomit 'without stopping'. Minutes later he passed out and never woke up, according to witnesses.

Antonio Alcaraz told Spanish newspaper Hoy that Gracia 'seemed fine' right up until the award ceremony when he was presented with his prize.

'He had drunk six litres of beer, and when he won he lifted the trophy,' Alcaraz said. 'Then he just started to vomit without stopping and he never spoke again.'

The traditional knees up, in Murcia's Gea y Truyols district, sees competitors attempt to down as many litres of beer as they can in 20-minutes.

Heart attack: New of Gracia's tragic death comes days after Australian Bruce Holland died taking part in a pie eating contestin a Queensland pub

'But it seems Joaquín's body said enough was enough,' said witness Santiago García of the man emergency officials later described as 'obese'.

'He started to vomit in his chair. I was one of the people who held him upright,' he said.

Municipality vice president Pedro Rodríguez added: 'He vomited a lot but I sat with him for ten minutes, and he was sleeping and snoring away.'

However, he was not sleeping but suffering from a massive heart attack. Paramedics were called and he was rushed to hospital. But medics were unable to revive him.

Officials in the area defended the event, saying it has a long tradition in the area. But they added that further festivities have been suspended and called for a three-day official period of mourning.

New of Gracia's tragic death comes days after an Australian man died taking part in a pie eating contest in a Queensland pub.

Bruce Holland, 64, collapsed while taking part in the food contest moments after declaring: 'Jeez, this chilli pie is hot.' He died in hospital 90 minutes later.

Friends who were with him at the Bushland Beach Tavern, near Townsville, said they believed he suffered a heart attack after eating just a few mouthfuls of a pie.

The pie-eating contest was held during the half time break in a rugby match which Mr Holland and his friends were watching on the tavern's TV.

Arthur McMahon, a spokesman for the tavern, said it was the first time the pub had hosted a food competition and Mr Holland was the first to put his hand up to take part.

'He was always up for raffles or anything and used to like winning things,' Mr McMahon told Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper.

'At half time they had this chilli pie competition and people were asked to volunteer and Bruce put up his hand.'

Culled from DAILY MAIL