Dutch student dies in S. Africa

A Dutch exchange student died in South Africa after a night of excessive drinking last Friday, media there have reported. South African newspaper Die Burger says 24-year-old Jurriën Wessink from Haaksbergen had been at a party at the student bar of Stenden University in Port Alfred, where he partook in what students there call “funnel drinking”, alcohol being poured through a funnel in someone’s mouth. Wessink apparently vomited afterward and had difficulty breathing. He was taken to a local hospital where he passed away shortly after. Dutch media have not received confirmation from South African police, but Die Burger quotes police officer Luvuyo Mjekula as saying that the hospital had made all efforts to save the young man’s life. Mjekula did not confirm that Wessink had been funnel drinking, but he said that there would be an autopsy and the case would be investigated. The newspaper said Wessink’s family has meanwhile traveled to South Africa.