It’s been a very tough week as the entertainment industry mourns the loss of actor Godfrey Gao who died unexpectedly at the age of 35 when he fainted during filming for Zhejiang TV’s reality show Chase Me. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain that his loved ones must be experiencing at this time.
As the world mourns, many continue to have nagging questions about the circumstances around his death. China’s state-run CCTV was among those who raised questions on the ‘what ifs’. What could’ve caused an exceptionally fit person to die from sudden cardiac death?
The CCTV reporter touched upon the suspicions from some who thought that the reality show’s high-intensity challenges performed in the middle of the night were fraught with problems. It also tackled how many were saddened by eyewitness claims that there was no medical personnel or rescue equipment during the golden 4 minutes of emergency response time and that the ambulance couldn’t arrive immediately due to road blockage. While immediate emergency measures might not have saved him, it could have given him a better chance of survival.
It’s not easy having to read the tributes Godfrey’s friends have written for him, and I’ve personally been trying to stay away from any news showing how much Godfrey struggled during his last few minutes. Still, with all these theories about what went wrong and what could have been prevented, there’s only one thing left as fans continue to call out the show’s broadcaster Zhejiang TV to reveal the truth.
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Anonymous
It still angers me with how Zhejiang TV and Chase Me production team handle all the press in regards to Godfrey's death. They haven't even cancelled the show yet. It's like they're waiting for all this to be passed and then they can continue their show and act like nothing happened. Truly disgusting.
Anonymous
I saw the video of Godfrey struggle to run before he died is so sad to watch. He knew he couldn't go on but put a smile on the camera and keep the pain to himself. If they didn't film for 17+ hours and give him time to rest maybe he still be here.
His friend James Mao wedding was also sad. Imagine how his family,.friends and fans r going thru this time. It's very difficult timing for everyone
anon
My question was… HOW was there no medical staff immediately onsite? There are some real human rights concerns at play here. Godfrey Gao's family, friends and fans deserve answers. He died before his time and it is not right.
Usi
What I'm curious is not that the med team arrived after 4 minutes what is pretty fast, but why no one is talking about First Aid? Did he got it? Especially with heart problems cardiac massage is elemental from the first SECOND. You can't do anything wrong and broken ribs can heal. With so many people around they could have switched when one got tired.
Anonymous
It's just very sad for the family. If the show prepared for scenarios like this with this kind of show he would be still alive today. I think the people were there didn't know how to do CPR and some people didn't take his condition at the time seriously according to some article I saw. If someone did CPR on him right away after he collapsed at least that would have increased his survival rate. I think everyone should learn how to do CPR – you may save someone's life one day.