by Zara Mustapha

In what could be called a freak accident, the stomach of a Chinese woman who drank and ate too much exploded while she was being operated upon.

According to reports, the  58-year old woman was said to be hospitalized  after she had developed severe abdominal swelling due to excessive eating and drinking.

The woman’s abdomen was said to have burst releasing gas which caused a fire during the operation.

Times of India reports:

The surgeons had to remove her entire stomach, the report quoted Wang Hao, a doctor at the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in Jiangsu province as saying.

Wang said the incident occurred when the ethyl alcohol in the patient’s stomach came in contact with the electric surgical knife.

“Normally, people will stop eating when they feel full. However, drinking alcohol during a rich meal can make people ignore their body’s signals, and they eat too much,” he said.

Chinese celebrated their week-long New Year also known as the Spring Festival this week during which people eat and drink heavily at the family get-togethers.