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25th September 2023
12:03pm BST
A British man has been stabbed to death in Portugal while reportedly playing the Blue Whale Suicide game.
The 35-year-old victim, who has not been named, was allegedly attacked after a row broke out between a group of friends while they played the online challenge which has been linked to a series of deaths worldwide. The game, aimed at teenagers, sees participants join a group where tasks are set by an 'administrator', that become progressively worse and end in self harm
pants join a 'group' where the tasks are set by a group 'administrator' and can range from watching horror movies to waking at strange hours, and eventually progresses to self harming.
Police found the victim's body on Sunday in remote woodland between the localities of Poco Negro and Soalheira, near the central town of Pedrogao Grande.
A 26-year-old British man is said to have handed himself in to police and confessed to the crime.
According to reports, police on Sunday questioned at least three men and two women, including the 26-year-old man.
MailOnline reported that it wasn't clear how many of the group would be ordered to appear before a judge over the death.
Police were alerted to the man's death by the group around 6.30am Sunday and are said to have accompanied officers to the scene.
Portugal's Policia Judiciaria force is leading the investigation, but is yet to comment.
According to the Mail, the group that raised the alarm are thought to have attended a private party on Saturday night with the victim. In the middle of the night they then went to an isolated woodland area to start the game.
The victim was found with several stab wounds and a bladed weapon is said to have been recovered from the scene.
The people questioned by police, including the suspect, are thought to be part of a group of foreigners living in a commune near to the crime scene.
First reports about its victims appeared in Russia in 2016, and in 2020 police in Britain issued a warning to parents.
Northants Police said: "We are aware of a disturbing social media challenge circulating called the 'Blue Whale Challenge' which encourages teenagers to take part in a series of 50 challenges that culminate in committing suicide.
"This challenge first appeared in 2016 and tasks are given online or through text messages, instant messages or posts on Instagram and Twitter.
"Please talk to your children about the dangers and tell them not to open any messages or challenges of this kind."
In 2016, Russian Philipp Budeikin, then 21, claimed to have invented the game three years earlier. The then 21-year-old was convicted on two counts of inciting the suicide of a minor and also admitted to "inciting at least 16 teenage girls to commit suicide." A Siberian court sentenced him to three years in jail in July, 2017.
In January 2019, the BBC published an article about the challenge and the truth behind it. Read it here.
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