19-year-old dies after playing 40 hours of Diablo

A Taiwan teenager died after playing 40 hours of Diablo 3 in an internet cafe last Thursday.

The 19-year-old did not consume any food except water, according to a report by Apple Daily.

At around 5am, an internet cafe assistant who was making his rounds to collect hourly fees found Zhuang Zhengfeng slumped on the keyboard at the shop in Tainan.

After being woken up by the assistant, Zhuang said he felt unwell and mumbled under his breath that he needed some fresh air.

He then exited the internet cafe, vomitted and collapsed on the ground. He had lost consciousness at that point.

The internet cafe assistant found him and called for an ambulance. Zhuang was subsequently taken to Tainan hospital's Xinhua branch.

During the journey, first aid personnel tried to resuscitate him - and he was momentarily revived - but passed away before they arrived at the hospital.

His mother identified his body at the hospital and kept calling out "Sweetheart," as she wept.

Tainan Kuo General Hospital Heart Department head Lu Yanyuan said: "The deceased sat for a long time in the internet cafe, his blood flow slowed and produced a blood clot, and the clot flowed through his lungs to the vein. This likely caused a pulmonary vein embolism and sudden death".

The police investigators announced that initial investigations revealed no external injuries, and they plan to perform an autopsy to establish the cause of death last Saturday.

Zhuang was considered to be fit and strong and he also took part in Taekwondo competitions.

The internet cafe assistant named Chen said that Zhuang had patronised the cafe often in the recent months and would play for a very long time, often from afternoon until late at night, before leaving.