Man chokes to death on panettone during Christmas meal in front of family

A family was left heartbroken after a Christmas Eve meal turned into a tragedy when a 47-year-old man choked to death at the dining table on a piece of panettone and mandarin orange

08:50, 27 Dec 2025Updated 08:58, 27 Dec 2025

Giovanni Lopez (right) died at a Christmas Eve meal in front of his family(Image: Newsflash)

A man has tragically died after choking on a piece of panettone in front of his horrified family during a Christmas Eve lunch.

Giovanni Lopez tucked into a piece of the Italian holiday bread during a Christmas Eve lunch when the tragedy struck. The 4-year-old man collapsed while eating with relatives at his parents’ home in the town of Settimo Torinese, in the Italian region of Piedmont.

Terrified family members immediately rushed to try to help him but realised the choking was serious and called the emergency services. An ambulance rushed to the house at around 2.30pm on Wednesday afternoon.

The 47-year-old chocked while eating panettone (Image: Getty Images)READ MORE: ‘We lost £1,300 on Christmas dinner after restaurant SHUT without warning’READ MORE: Christmas horror as e-scooter rider dies after crash with 80-year-old car driver

Paramedics desperately attempted to save Giovanni but, despite resuscitation efforts, he did not recover from the Christmas Eve horror. Investigators said the man’s airways were blocked by a food lump made up of pieces of panettone, a traditional Italian sweet bread, and fresh mandarin.

The medical examiner later confirmed the death and deemed it was accidental. Giovanni’s brother Domenico later posted a heartbreaking tribute to him in a Facebook post, writing: “Giovanni, you will always be in our hearts.

“You were pure, generous and kind, perhaps too much so. You always thought of others and never of yourself. I hope the Lord will be kind to you and that you have gone on to a better life. I love you, my brother.”

This sadly has not been the only Christmas tragedy to strike in recent days. A man was left fighting for his life after his stomach was “torn apart” by a fancy cocktail served during a corporate festive bash.

Guests at the swanky bash were being entertained with a theatrical “cryo-show” by an unidentified “celebrity chef” when the horror incident unfolded, in Moscow, Russia. This chef reportedly prepared the cocktails using liquid nitrogen, which is potentially deadly if ingested before it fully evaporates.

Witnesses reportedly claimed they were not warned of the potential risks and the chef allegedly encouraged one man to drink the cocktail immediately. This guest collapsed to the ground and was rushed to hospital and into intensive care, where surgeons carried out emergency surgery to repair the torn stomach.

Medics determined the liquid nitrogen caused a rapid expansion of gas inside his body, which ruptured his stomach. Experts have warn consuming liquid nitrogen before evaporation can lead to severe internal injuries or death.

When ingested, it rapidly turns into gas inside the body and expands hundreds of times in volume, which can severe internal pressure. This could in turn lead to a stomach rupture, internal bleeding, and organ damage.