Khagendra Thapa Magar, the world鈥檚 shortest man. Image: AFP/Prakash Mathema
The world鈥檚 shortest man who could walk, as verified by Guinness World Records, died Friday at a hospital in Nepal, his family said.
Khagendra Thapa Magar, who measured 聽67.08 centimeters (2 feet 2.41 inches), died of pneumonia at a hospital in Pokhara, 200 kilometers from Kathmandu, where he lived with his parents.
鈥淗e has been in and out of hospital because of pneumonia. But this time his heart was also affected. He passed away today,鈥� Mahesh Thapa Magar, his brother, told Agence France-Presse.
Magar was first declared the world鈥檚 shortest man in 2010 after his 18th birthday, photographed holding a certificate only a bit smaller than him.
However, he eventually lost the title after Nepal鈥檚 Chandra Bahadur Dangi, who measured 54.6 centimeters, was discovered and named the world鈥檚 shortest mobile man. Magar regained the title after Dangi鈥檚 death in 2015.
鈥淗e was so tiny when he was born that he could fit in the palm of your hand, and it was very hard to bathe him because he was so small,鈥� said his father, Roop Bahadur, according to Guinness World Records.
As the world鈥檚 shortest man the 27-year-old traveled to more than a dozen countries and made television appearances in Europe and the United States.
鈥淲e鈥檙e terribly sad to hear the news from Nepal that Khagendra is no longer with us,鈥� said Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records editor-in-chief.
鈥淟ife can be challenging when you weigh just 6 kilograms and you don鈥檛 fit into a world built for the average person. But Khagendra certainly didn鈥檛 let his small size stop him from getting the most out of life鈥� he said.
Magar became an official face of Nepal鈥檚 tourism campaign, which featured him as the smallest man in a country that is home to the world鈥檚 highest peak, Mount Everest.
During his stint, he met other short people around the world, including the shortest woman, Jyoti Amge, from India.
In a video released by Guinness World Records, Magar is seen playing a guitar with his brother, riding a bike and sitting at his family鈥檚 shop.
The world鈥檚 shortest non-mobile man remains Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, who measures only 59.93 centimeters but is unable to walk or stand unaided, according to Guinness World Records.
The record for shortest living mobile man is now retained by Edward 鈥淣ino鈥� Hernandez of Colombia, a reggaeton DJ who stands 70.21 centimeters tall, Guinness said.聽RGA
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