A 35-year-old British man was reportedly stabbed to death in a forest in Portugal while playing the suicide game Blue Whale.
The victim, who has not been named, was allegedly attacked after an argument broke out between a group of friends while they were playing the infamous suicide game, an online challenge linked to a number of deaths around the world is brought.
Police found the victim’s body yesterday in a remote forest area between the towns of Poco Negro and Soalheira, near downtown Pedrogao Grande.
A 26-year-old man, also described as British, turned himself in and reportedly confessed to the crime during the Blue Whale game.
Investigators spent yesterday questioning at least three men and two women, including the Briton described as the main suspect.
It was not immediately clear this morning how many of them will have to appear in court before a judge or when the court date will take place.
A 35-year-old British man was reportedly stabbed to death in a forest in Portugal while playing the suicide game Blue Whale. Pictured: Police officers prepare to lift the victim’s body, which lies in a gray box, into a waiting vehicle
Drone footage of police officers transporting the victim’s body to a waiting vehicle
Police found the victim’s body yesterday in a remote forest area between the towns of Poco Negro and Soalheira, near downtown Pedrogao Grande. File image of the area near Pedrogao Grande
The group that raised the alarm is believed to have attended a private party with the victim on Saturday evening and went to a remote forest area in the middle of the night to start the blue whale suicide game
The police were alerted to the body of the 35-year-old victim at around 6.30 a.m. yesterday by a group of friends. The group, who appeared to be frightened and nervous, accompanied them to the crime scene.
What is the “Blue Whale Suicide Game”?
The deadly blue whale “game” involves 50 tasks in as many days aimed at “creating psychologically traumatizing situations” that end in suicide.
Participants join a “group” where tasks are set by a group “administrator” and can range from watching horror movies to waking up at strange times to self-harm.
On the 50th day, the controlling manipulators behind the game, which originated in Russia in 2015, are reportedly instructing the mostly teenage participants to kill themselves.
The game, which reportedly began in Russia, has caused numerous deaths around the world, including in Ukraine, India and the United States.
First reports of the victims appeared in Russia in 2016, and in 2020 police in Britain warned parents to be considerate of their children’s online activities and urged them to talk about the dangers they might face.
The ongoing investigation is being led by the Portuguese police Policia Judiciaria, which has not yet commented.
The group that raised the alarm is believed to have attended a private party with the victim on Saturday evening and went to a remote wooded area in the middle of the night to start the Blue Whale Suicide game.
In the following hours, the 35-year-old man is said to have been stabbed, with his body showing multiple stab wounds.
The bladed weapon with which the 26-year-old Briton is said to have attacked the victim was also recovered from the crime scene.
The alleged attacker reportedly went to a police station in the village of Figueiro dos Vinhos, about a 15-minute drive from Pedrogao Grande, to tell officers what had happened.
A police source told the local press: “He was accompanied by two other people who witnessed the incident.”
An autopsy was scheduled to take place today in the university town of Coimbra.
The people questioned by police, including the suspect, are believed to belong to a group of foreigners living in a community near the crime scene. They were described locally as mainly British and Dutch nationals.
Footage published by Portuguese daily Correio da Manha showed GNR officers lifting the dead man’s body on a stretcher after covering it with a sheet and placing it in the back of a nearby police van.
A waiting Red Cross ambulance took it to Coimbra after police reached the nearest paved road.
Respected Portuguese broadcaster SIC said the group often hosted parties and played the Blue Whale game. Web has contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment.
The deadly blue whale “game” involves 50 tasks in as many days aimed at “creating psychologically traumatizing situations” that end in suicide.
Participants join a “group” where tasks are set by a group “administrator” and can range from watching horror movies to waking up at strange times to self-harm.
On the 50th day, the controlling manipulators behind the game, which originated in Russia in 2015, are reportedly instructing the mostly teenage participants to kill themselves.
The game, which reportedly began in Russia, has caused numerous deaths around the world, including in Ukraine, India and the United States.
First reports of the victims appeared in Russia in 2016, and in 2020 police in Britain warned parents to be considerate of their children’s online activities and urged them to talk about the dangers they might face.
Police officers lift a gray box containing the victim’s body into a waiting vehicle
The victim, who has not been named, was allegedly attacked after an argument broke out between a group of friends while they were playing the infamous suicide game, an online challenge linked to a number of deaths around the world was brought
At the time, Northants Police said: “We are aware that a disturbing social media challenge called the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ is circulating, which encourages teenagers to take part in a series of 50 challenges culminating in committing suicide .”
“This challenge first appeared in 2016 and tasks are assigned online or via text messages, instant messages, or posts on Instagram and Twitter.”
“Please talk to your children about the dangers and tell them not to open messages or challenges of this type.”
In 2016, then 21-year-old Russian Philipp Budeikin claimed to have invented the game three years earlier.
He was arrested and convicted of two counts of inciting suicide of a minor. He also admitted to “inciting at least 16 teenage girls to commit suicide.”
A Siberian court sentenced him to three years in prison in July 2017.
The former psychology student, who was expelled from his university, initially claimed he was “just having fun” and later said his intention was to “clean up society”.
In May, a Ukrainian mother of a schoolboy who survived the “blue whale suicide game” expressed concern that the perpetrators “will hunt her son again until they kill him.”
Olga Tkachenko and her 10-year-old son Mykyta Kovalchuk told their story on a talk show and warned others not to be infected by the perpetrators who drive children and young people to suicide.
“I would like to warn parents about such situations that destroy the lives and fate of many,” the mother said in a recent television interview.
Last September, Mykyta jumped from a six-story balcony in Kiev, Ukraine while completing his final challenge set by a blue whale “mentor.”
It happened after Mykyta came home from school feeling bad and Olga left her apartment to buy medicine to bring down his fever.
While she was away, the boy reportedly drank some alcohol, went out onto the balcony and climbed onto the windowsill.
Mother Olga Tkachenko and her 10-year-old son Mykyta Kovalchuk (pictured together) told their story during a talk show and warned others not to be infected by the perpetrators who drive children and teenagers to suicide, sharing their fears that they ” would hunt her son again until they killed him’
Last September, 10-year-old Mykyta Kovalchuk (pictured on life support) jumped from a six-story balcony in Kiev while completing his final challenge set by a blue whale mentor
He reportedly drew Valentine’s hearts on the glass of a balcony window before going out.
When mother returned home, she encountered police officers and neighbors near the front door of her apartment. They told her that Mykyta had just been admitted to the hospital in critical condition.
“He was a good child and could learn well.” He had everything he needed. “I couldn’t understand how something like this could happen to him and my family,” Olga said.
Luckily for Mykyta, he was able to avoid fatal damage to his internal organs or bones after a 66-foot fall.
“Mykyta was in serious condition, but his spinal cord was not damaged and that gave us hope,” the mother said.
The boy spent the next two months in the hospital, half of them in the intensive care unit.
Today, nine months after the incident, he is physically fine, but his mother believes that “his abusers will hunt him again and that his life is still in danger.”
“I live in constant worry and fear for my son’s life.” “I’m afraid they will find him again this time to do the work,” Olga said.
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