A 7-year-old child died on Tuesday, October 25 in a leisure center, after swallowing a Babybel for a challenge with friends.
“It’s child’s play that has turned into a tragedy”, reported the Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Voice of the North. The accident took place this Tuesday, October 25, in the multipurpose room of Sancourt, a small town in the North of France. It was around noon when about fifteen children from the Sivom Ouest-Cambrésis summer camp gathered to eat. Meal time was going smoothly until7 year old boy chokes on a Babybel, the famous round-shaped cheese very popular with the youngest. The supervising staff and the director of the leisure center reacted immediately by providing the victim with the first aid measures to try to unclog his airways. They also used a defibrillator on the child. During this time, the other cherubim were put aside so as not to be spectators of the scene. Rescuers were then quickly rushed to the scene. According to our colleagues, “for more than forty-five minutes”, the caregivers took turns to save the boy, who was in cardio-ventilatory arrest. Unfortunately, the care was not enough, the young victim died on the spot.
A challenge with dramatic consequences
According to the first elements of the investigation, the boy was the victim of a dangerous challenge. With another comrade, they challenged each other to swallow a Babybel whole. The cheese would then stuck in trachea, causing thechoking then cardio-ventilatory arrest. Is this an isolated case? No. This type of drama can unfortunately occur with other foods, such as knack (the famous Strasbourg sausage). This is why it is necessary be particularly vigilant when children are eating, whether young or old. Doctor Jimmy Mohamed explains it very well in a Reel posted on his Instagram account. To avoid this kind of accident with a sausage, it advise parents not to cut the food into small pieces but cut it lengthwise, so the pieces are narrower and easier to swallow.
Following this new tragedy which affected a 7-year-old boy, the management of the leisure center asked for psychological support for its teams. The mayor of Sancourt also offered to set up a follow-up for the child’s family.