World News for Students of English

06-06-2014 07:00

A funeral for a record breaker. The world’s heaviest man is laid to rest in Mexico. Manuel Uribe died on Monday after spending twenty days in hospital. The 48-year-old once weighed as much as a small truck. Family and friends gather to pay their final respects in Monterrey.

Manuel once tipping the scales at 560 kilos after a diet of pizzas and burgers in the United States where he worked as a computer repairman. It saw Guinness World Records award him the title of the world’s heaviest man. Moving back to Mexico, his diet changed to tacos. By the time of his death he’d slimmed down to 394 kilos, reportedly taken to hospital by crane due to an abnormal heartbeat. He’s also believed to have suffered from liver problems.

Transported to the funeral home on the back of a truck, unable to find a suitable coffin for his large size, he was cremated. His lawyer Moises Nataren admitting it’s not a dignified way to go.

“Nobody wanted to see him end up like this. Unfortunately, there is no coffin that is big enough for his weight and size or a hearse that is adaptable to a person of his weight.”

Manuel was not one to let his weight get in the way. Getting married six years ago after being hoisted onto a flat bed truck and taken to the wedding, on one of the few occasions he left his home.

Difficult words: gather (come together), dignified (respectable), hearse (large car which carries a dead body in a coffin), hoist (to lift something).

Source: www.itn.co.uk