Fatal Choking Hazard: 3-Year-Old Dies After Consuming Bubble Tea While Playing on Trampoline

Representative image.

In a tragic incident in China's Zhejiang province, a three-year-old child died after choking on tapioca bubbles from milk tea while jumping on a trampoline at a shopping mall. The fatal accident occurred on October 19, when the toddler collapsed suddenly during play after consuming the beverage.

The child's parents immediately rushed him to a nearby hospital, but despite emergency medical intervention lasting over an hour, healthcare professionals were unable to save the young boy's life.

Medical reports indicated that the tapioca bubbles, measuring approximately 10 mm in diameter, were too large for the child's small airway. Additionally, their sticky texture prevented effective clearance even when the mother attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

The father, referred to as Li in reports, shared surveillance footage from the shopping mall playground documenting the incident. The video shows the mother giving her son the bubble tea, which he then consumed shortly before the tragedy occurred.

In his social media post accompanying the video, Li called for accountability from both the milk tea establishment and the shopping center management.

The bubble tea shop has since expressed condolences to the grieving family. They noted that their online ordering system did include a warning label advising that children and elderly individuals should only consume the beverage under proper supervision.

The incident has sparked significant discussion across Chinese social media platforms, with many commenters debating parental responsibility in such situations.

One social media user commented, "The parents are the ones who bought bubble tea for their toddler, and the ones who let him play on the trampoline while drinking it."

Another commenter emphasized, "It is common sense that kids cannot eat tapioca bubbles, or jelly and sticky rice. They also cannot eat or drink while playing."