Japanese athlete collapses after mistakenly drinking hand sanitiser

A high school athlete in Japan fell ill after she was mistakenly given a hand sanitiser to drink. Authorities have started a probe of the incident.

The incident took place at a 5,000-meter walking race competition in Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture. Competition organizers mistakenly poured the sanitiser into cups and placed them at a drinks station for athletes.

According to the school administration, the sanitiser was stored in an unlabeled bottle which might have led to the confusion.

One athlete vomited and collapsed after drinking the sanitiser and quit the race while two others spat it out and continued racing.

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All three of them were taken to the hospital for treatment and have reportedly recovered from their illness.

The governor of Yamanashi Kotaro Nagasaki on Monday said that they would also conduct a third-party investigation.

He apologized to the affected athletes and their families and said, “On behalf of the prefecture, I would like to offer a sincere apology to the athlete and her family.”