Influencer dies 12 hours after attempting social media challenge

He downed at least seven bottles of the strong alcohol, with can have a strength of up to 60%

The influencer, who went by the name Sanqiange, filmed himself taking part in the challenge in which he downed bottles of Baijiu, a strong Chinese spirit with an alcohol content of up to 60 percent.

The 'PK' challenge has been doing the rounds on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. It sees influencers take each other on in four one-on-one battles in order to win rewards from their followers.

Along with rewards for the winner of these challenges, there is often a punishment for the loser.

Sanqiange three of his rounds, the BBC reports, and the punishment was seemingly to down bottles of Baijiu.

Viewers said he drank at least seven bottles of the drink during the evening.

One of his friends, identified only as Zhao, told Shangyou News: “I don’t know how much he had consumed before I tuned in. But in the latter part of the video, I saw him finish three bottles before starting on a fourth."

“The PK games ended at around 1 a.m. and by 1 p.m., (when his family found him) he was gone. He didn't even get a chance for emergency treatment,” he added.

According to Zhao, Sanqiange had a history of filming himself drinking alcohol and posting the footage online.

The video of Sanqiage downing the alcohol has been taken down and is no longer available to view.

The incident has reignited debate in China about the safety and regulation of social media apps such as Douyin.

China's broadcasting authorities have already banned youngsters below 16 from tipping live-streamers, restricting their access to content after 10pm.

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