A 23-year-old mum has died after taking part in a drinking challenge in a nightclub for her birthday.
María José Ardila, who has a 10-month-old baby, went out with friends three days before she turned 24.
The group enjoyed dinner before heading to a nightclub.
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As well as celebrating her big day, María was excited about moving to the US, where her husband lives.
The group started taking part in a series of six drinking challenges at the Sagsa nightclub in the victim’s hometown of Cali in Colombia.
The first challenge was to drink a double shot of liquor called Cucaracho in five seconds on 25 October.
The second was to down shots in five seconds.
The third was to drink a beer nonstop.
The fourth was to drink three shots without using their hands.
The fifth was to drink a strong spirit known as aguardiente for 13 seconds without spilling a drop.
The sixth was to drink eight different shots through a straw.
The prize for the last challenge was £296 (COP 1.5m), but the victim’s family said the group had increased it to £395 (COP 2m).
The young mum reached the sixth challenge in the early hours of the morning, but out of the eight shots, she could only finish three.
She said, “That last one tasted horrible,” before falling unconscious on the floor in front of shocked friends and clubgoers.
She reportedly began to convulse, and her friends tried to get her into a taxi to transport her to the hospital, but no cabbies would stop to take her.
She then spent around 17 minutes unable to breathe.
Her father, Andrés Ardila, said she suffered aspiration pneumonia, causing one of her lungs to collapse.
A group member called a friend who picked them up and took them to a nearby hospital.
At the medical centre, doctors resuscitated María on three separate occasions as she lost consciousness each time.
Andrés said: “I saw my daughter die three times.
“They revived her, intubated her, and that’s when we started praying for her.”
She was taken to the ICU, where she spent three days, as reported by Need To Know.
Her family made the heartbreaking decision to disconnect her from life support as she had suffered brain death.
A spokesperson for the Cali Health Secretariat said: “In light of the events that occurred in recent days, which unfortunately resulted in the alcoholic poisoning of a woman.
“We want to inform the community of the inspection processes that we will carry out in commercial establishments and off-licences.
“In order to guarantee and strengthen the safety process of the sale, marketing and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the city.”
A nightclub spokesperson said: “Sagsa Bar deeply regrets the events that occurred on 25 October this year.
“We express our solidarity, support, and condolences to the family during this difficult time and reaffirm our willingness to provide all necessary support and cooperation.”
An investigation into María’s death is ongoing.
