In an update to the previously report tragedy regarding a 28 year old mother who died from water intoxication, it seems those who were responsible for the competition “Hold your Wii for a Wii”, have been fired from the US radio station where it was broadcast.

John Geary, vice president and general manager of KDND’s parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, announced that 10 employees (including the shows hosts), were fired and the “Morning Rave” show suspended. The death is currently being investigated.

Here’s the original news post:

While this didn’t take place in the UK, this should be a fine warning to those planning to get a Nintendo Wii in other means besides purchase.

Jennifer Strange is a 28 year old mother who took a spot in a water drinking contest held by a radio station KDND 107.9. *Hold your Wii for a Wii* was the name of the game. The rules consist of drinking a certain amount of water, and who ever participates will have to compete to hold it in their bladder the longest. And if you guessed it, the prize was a Nintendo Wii, the must-buy item over the Christmas holidays.

Jennifer was found dead in her house in Rancho Cordova, California last Friday after drinking an overdose of water without the use of a bathroom facility. A preliminary investigation was done, and the cause of her death was due to being “consistent with a water intoxication death”.

Water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia, is extremely rare and only usually affects endurance athletes, such as long distance runners. The condition is caused by a loss of sodium in the blood due to sweating and dilution by drinking large volumes of water. Typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting and headache. In the most serious cases the brain swells causing confusion, seizures, coma and even death.

Contestants were told to drink eight-ounce bottles of water every fifteen minutes. Some thought this was the right amount to go easy on the contestants, but Jennifer’s death proved otherwise. People noted that she came down with an extreme headache. Laura Rios (Ms. Strange’s colleague at Radiogical Associates of Sacramento) said Jennifer complained about the headache, and was heard to be crying. But that was the last anyone saw her before her death.

Anyone reading this article will now figure that silly contests like this cause people to go beyond their limits. Especially if it causes death. Don’t make the same mistake, if you are waiting for a Nintendo Wii, wait and camp for it.

More information can be found here:

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/too-high-a-price-for-a-wii/