A 10-year-old Italian girl accidentally killed herself after she took the ‘Blackout Challenge’ on TikTok , according to reports.
The child was declared brain dead by doctors on Thursday in Palermo after attempting the challenge by strangling herself.
Doctors said they did all they could to try and save her but she was too far gone after arriving at the hospital in cardiac arrest.
The girl’s parents have given the permission to donate her organs following their child’s death, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
The ‘Blackout Challenge’, with a milder variant called the ‘Passout Challenge’, has been circulating on social media platforms including TikTok over the last year.
It is currently considered to be one of the most trending challenges on TikTok.
Also known as ‘the fainting game’, ‘the game of choking’ or ‘speed dreaming’, the challenge requires users to cause themselves to pass out for a few seconds.
Similar dangerous trends, such as the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, have prompted police warnings after being linked to numerous deaths around the world.
‘Blue whale challenge’ tasks can range from watching horror movies to waking at strange hours, and eventually progress to self-harming.
On the 50th day, the controlling manipulators behind the ‘game’ reportedly instruct the youngsters to kill themselves.
Experts have warned of the risks associated with these online challenges, including fainting, seizures, brain damage, and even death.
