Asia-Pacific News
Taiwan man claims world record for being buried alive
Jun 2, 2011, 14:47 GMT
A man shakes hands with Cho Sheng-keng (L), a Taiwan magician buried in three tons of sand inside a kiosk in a Taipei park, Taiwan, 30 May 2011. Cho entered the kiosk on 29 May to try to set a world record by remaining \'buried alive\' for 100 hours. Cho Sheng-keng breathes and drink water through two tubes. The organizer monitors his breathing, heartbeat and body temperature, and will smash the glass of the kiosk to rescue him if he is in danger.
Taipei - A Taiwanese magician on Thursday claimed to have set a world record for being buried alive for 100 hours in a sand-filled kiosk.
Cho Sheng-keng, looking pale and exhausted, raised his hand and flashed a tired smile as he was pulled out of the kiosk at the Huashan Creative Park in Taipei.
Dozens of reporters and a huge crowd joined the countdown of Cho's 100-hour adventure testing human endurance, which began Sunday.
Cho, known by his stage name Igo, was rushed to a hospital for medical checkup. Doctors said he suffered from dehydration and a slight fever, but was otherwise fine. During the four-day stunt, Cho survived by breathing and drinking water through two tubes.
A hole in the front of the kiosk allowed him to shake hands with visitors and signal if he was in danger. Members of his magic troupe, the Mirror Theatre, monitored his breathing, heartbeat and body temperature around the clock.
'From his heartbeat, we could tell he slept on and off. Being buried in 3.6 tons of sand and enduring the cold caused by the rain, was a test of his body and mind. We were worried for him all the time,' Chang Chia-lun, head of the magic group, told the German Press Agency dpa.
Chang said a similar stunt had been tried before, as performers were placed in a wooden box which was buried underground.
'Cho was buried in sand, and he wanted to set a Guinness World Record for that,' Chang said.
The Mirror Theatre videotaped Cho's stunt and has asked the Guinness World Records committee to verify whether it had set a new benchmark, he added.
