Hippo swallows dwarf - a most tragic accident in Thailand…

First published on Qassia:

A hippopotomus reportedly swallowed a dwarf in a circus in northern Thailand.

The dwarf nicknamed “Od”, died when he bounced sideways from a trampoline and was swallowed by a yawning hippo, which was waiting for the next act.
Vets on the scene said Hilda the Hippo had a gag reflex that caused her to automatically swallow.

The vets also claimed it was the first time Hilda had ever eaten a circus performer. We hope it is the first and last time!

Unfortunately the 1000 odd spectators continued to applaud wildly, but fortunately commonsense prevailed. There had been a tragic mistake.

THAI police said the trampoline would be sent for a forensic analysis.

Update to story:

While there was some doubt about the veracity of this story, a Google search has discovered a link which claims this story is in fact true.It allegedly occurred on 15 July 1999. However the story is missing from the link. I have emailed the Darwin site and complained that the story was withdrawn.

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AB