A Reality Tv Contestant Has Drowned

[sassienie]

Sky News

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-New...istan_Promotion

Saad Khan, 32, of Karachi, Pakistan, lost control while traversing a lake with a 7kg backpack and disappeared under water.

The father-of-four, described as a strong swimmer, reportedly suffered a hamstring tear.

He was filming the stunt in Bangkok for a Pakistani promotional TV show for Unilever shampoo.

A spokeswoman for the company in Pakistan said horrified co-contestants and crew had rushed to try to save him but could not find him in the lake's murky waters.

Divers later recovered his body, Fareshteh Aslam said; we're looking to help Mr Khan's family in whatever way we can through this difficult time.

The incident took place on August 19 but was not revealed until Mr Khan's body was returned home to Karachi.

It emerged he had been eliminated from the show at the time of the accident, but had made a reappearance for a special challenge to earn a spot in the finals.

A spokesman for Unilever Global, Tim Johns, told Sky News the incident was a "dreadful tragedy". He said police in Bangkok were investigating the circumstances of the death and Unilever would act accordingly when their findings were made public.

Although the show was being produced in Thailand by an Indian company for Unilever, Mr Johns said: "We're looking to help Mr Khan's family in whatever way we can through this difficult time."

Ms Aslam added that despite Unilever having no liability for the tragic incident, they were supporting Mr Khan's family out of "moral rightness".

Reality television shows often subject contenders to harsh physical challenges. In May, a contestant of the Bulgarian version of Survivor died of a heart attack while filming on an island in the Philippines. Last week, a cameraman braving the Canadian Yukon solo for three months to make a Channel 4 documentary had to be rescued over fears he was close to starvation.

[harleyclarkey]

Did I read that right?? 7 kilos on his back?? And they had nothing near him if/when things went wrong??

What a waste of a life. Totally avoidable by the bunch of dopes who arranged the stunt. Strong swimmer or not, he should have had a back up plan.

Sympathies to his family.