A 16-year-old boy, Furkan Qureshi in Neemuch District, Madhya Pradesh, died while playing PUBG for 6 hours continuously, due to cardiac arrest on Tuesday, 28 May, reported The Week. 

According to his family, Furkan was addicted to games and used to play PUBG everyday for hours. On Tuesday, he started playing the game on his phone after lunch and collapsed in the evening. 

Later, he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where the doctor declared him dead, Dr, Ashok Jain, the cardiologist who attended him said, “He was brought without pulse. We tried to resuscitate him but we couldn’t.”

Harun Rashid Qureshi, the father of victim said that he was agitated and screaming loudly, then all of a sudden he collapsed on the floor while playing the game.

Multiplayer Game With Live Talk

The deceased sister, Fiza Qureshi, who was sitting beside him when he collapsed, said that “My brother was playing PUBG with some of his friends. Suddenly, he started shouting ‘carry out the blast..carry out blast’. Then he threw his earphones and mobile and cried saying “I will not play with you’. I lost the game because of you.”

Furkan’s family said that he was a good swimmer, and didn’t have any previous heart related complications. The excitement of the game while playing probably led to a surge in adrenaline causing tachycardia (increased heart rate) and further a cardiac arrest.

His brother, Mohammad Hashim, added, “He was such an addict to PUBG, that often he goes on to play the game for 18 hours”. Mohammad Hashim has now deleted PUBG from his mobile phone after the death of his brother. 

Chicken Dinner

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, commonly known as PUBG, is a online multiplayer battle game, where a player kills other players, in order to have a chicken dinner. This addictive game has over 120 million users in India, and gives them the opportunity to participate in virtual war like conflict and provides them with instant gratification. With a sudden rush of adrenaline,  “Chicken dinner” makes the game hard to refrain and resist. 

Places Where PUBG Has Been Banned

In April, a class 10th boy from Telangana committed suicide when his parents asked him to study instead of playing PUBG. Recently, Nepal banned the game, citing it to be harmful and addictive. In India, Municipal Corporation of Surat, Rajkot, and Vadodara have banned PUBG in their jurisdictions. Since the ban came into effect, more than 15 FIRs were registered. Some of the players were even arrested but later released on bail.

In a recent report, published by World Health Organization, it was declared that gaming disorder is indeed a thing and addiction can lead to mental disorders. However, the real issue here should not be banning the game itself, but also control and monitor the addictive behavior and ensure the child’s mental well being.

Also Read: My Story: “I Am A Woman Who Plays PUBG And This Is What I Go Through”