Dad dies after 'downing' full bottle of tequila in Domincan Republic nightclub

The dad of a newborn baby has died after "downing" a bottle of tequila in a nightclub without stopping.

Kelvin Rafael Mejía took part in the stunt in the Dominican Republic in an effort to secure prize money of 40,000 pesos – the equivalent of roughly £680.

He could be seen standing on stage of the Vacca Lounge club in the city of La Romana and completing the challenge as dozens of spectators took images with mobile phones and cheered him on.

However, as the 23-year-old neared the end of the bottle, he could be seen needing support and had to be held to remain upright.

After ingesting the full bottle, Mejía raised his arms in jubilation and remained conscious long enough to be handed his prize money, but seconds later could be seen wobbling around before collapsing.

He was taken to the nearby Centro Médico Coral for treatment, but died shortly after of suspected alcohol poisoning.

With conflicting accounts of how the fatal bet came about, the club's management have issued a statement to deny their involvement as some accused it of organising the challenge.

"We have received the sad news that a client who was in our disco pub died of alcoholic intoxication," a spokesman said in a statement seen by the Mirror. "It is very sad and it affects us personally.

"On the other hand, we publish this press statement because there are people saying that the young man participated in a contest organised by our disco pub but this is totally false as we have never organised this kind of contest or given cash as a prize.

"The only contests we ever do are dance contests or costume contests, with the award of bottle of champagne or other drink.

"This thing happened because some clients were betting money about who of them was able to drink more tequila. A young man approached them and said that he was going to drink it and then he would receive the money."

Dominican police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Sandra Perozo, Mejía's aunt, told local news outlets that what happened should serve as an example to young people, "that not everyone who tells you they are your friend is really your friend".