Keith Martin, at 58 stone (369 kg) the world’s heaviest man, collapsed yesterday in his bedroom forming a small black hole.
One of his carers, Carmen Furbita, described how the tragedy unfolded. “I was in the kitchen getting Keith’s dessert ready – doughnuts with a peanut butter garnish – when I heard this slurping sound coming from his bedroom. I thought he was just trying to get the last bit of the milkshake with his straw, but then there was a huge bang and the door came off its hinges. I thought ‘Ai, this is beyond me to clean up’ so I dialled the emergency services and asked for them to send everybody.”
When paramedics arrived they found no sign of Mr Martin, his bed, or any of the specialist heavy lifting gear and medical equipment normally installed in his bedroom – the only thing remaining was a small black hole in the floor which rapidly sucked in anything else placed in the vicinity. One of the paramedics, who did not wish to be named, said “We had no idea what we were walking into, to be honest – I’ve never experienced anything like it. It took the oxygen cylinder right out of my hand in a jiffy. Luckily I just managed to hang onto the door frame as it started to grab me and a fireman had to pull me to safety.”
Mr Martin’s bedroom remained sealed off last night and specialist teams have been brought in to investigate. Where the black hole leads to is a mystery so far, but doctors and forensic physicists are continuing to look into it.