How horrible......when I was that age at a Church meeting I ALMOST witnessed a fellow at across from me at our dinner table choke to death on ice cream.....one of the adults, after we started making a commotion (and realized he wasn't just laughing...he was choking) came and got him, and threw him against a wall.....it saved his life. I'm surprised it appears no one thought to grab this student and do something.
Unfortunately, if you choke in front of a few people, somebody will step into save you. If you choke in front of a hundred people, a hundred people will stand there waiting for somebody else to save you.
That is why tell you in First Aid to just go in and do what you have to do, as if there is nobody else who can do it. Take charge of the situation, delegate people individually to help you with certain tasks like calling 911, and take care of the victim.