Posted on 12/09/2003 9:31:42 AM PST by martin_fierro
Caribbean Santa Faints Near the Equator
Mon Dec 8, 8:21 PM ET
GEORGETOWN, Guyana - A Caribbean Santa fainted under a blazing sun while distributing candy to a swarm of children on a stage in a remote mining town near the equator.
Santa Claus panicked when more than 100 children stormed the stage Saturday to scoop up the sweets in the bauxite mining town of Linden, 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of Georgetown, police said.
Wearing a traditional winter Santa suit in this South American country, Santa buckled under the more than 80-degree Fahrenheit (27-degree Celsius) heat and slumped to the ground.
Onlookers rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was kept under observation for several hours and then released. Police and hospital officials refused to name the Santa, saying the middle-aged man was worried he'd be the laughing stock of the town of 30,000 residents.
Santa was hired by British home furnishing giant Courts PLC, which earlier in the day had used heavy-duty speakers mounted on a truck to invite parents to send their children to collect the candies and other small gifts. It was part of a promotional campaign in the run-up to the Christmas holiday season.
There's something you don't see every day!
This would win the $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos show.
img src="http://www.philly.com/images/tallahassee/democrat/7444/55415829728.jpg>
img src="http://www.philly.com/images/tallahassee/democrat/7444/55415829728.jpg">
"Happy Christmas, man...."
(with the sound of reggae music in the background....)
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