World’s shortest man dies in Nepal

Standing just 1 foot 9.5 inches tall and weighing 31 pounds, Chandra Bahadur Dangi was the shortest documented full-grown person on Earth. The native of Nepal died Thursdayat age 75 in an American Samoa hospital.

Dangi was suffering from pneumoniaand was admitted to the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center in Pago Pago late last week, according to the Kathmandu Post. He had been treated in Nepal, reports Huffington Post quoting the Daily Mirror, buttraveled to America Samoa for an appearance. He was rushed to the hospital there after his symptoms worsened.

Dangi will continue to hold the Guinness World Record for shortest man ever, having replaced 1-foot-10.5-inch Gul Mohammed, who died at age 40 in 1997. Dangi had managed to escape international notice for most of his lifebeforeGuinness investigated his case in 2012 and confirmed that he was 2 inches shorter than Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, who was then considered the shortest living man.

Balawing, age 22, now returns to the top spot.

In a statement on Thursday, Guinness World Records said it was “deeply saddened” by the news of Dangi's death.

"GWR would like to express its sincere and heartfelt condolences to Dangi's family in this difficult time," the statement read. "He will be remembered forever as an iconic and extraordinary record holder."

Last year, Dangi traveled to London, where he met with the world's tallest living man, 8-foot-3-inchSultan Kösen of Tu

been a lifelong dream to travel” and becoming a Guinness World Records title holder has enabled me to do that," Dangi told The Telegraph. "I'm honoured to be in London, I've always wanted to visit and the fact I get to meet Sultan is special. It makes me extremely proud to represent Nepal all around the world. I'm extremely humbled by the support I receive."

Dangi had a condition known as primordial dwarfism, which means, unlike with many other forms of dwarfism, his bones and organs were proportionally smallerthan those of an average-height person. While many primordial dwarfs suffer from health issues, Dangi was described as “unusually fit."

Family friend Sujit Dilip, owner of India's well-known Rambo Circus, told the Daily Mirror, "Today, our circus is flooded with tears at the loss of the world's smallest man ... whom we lovingly called Prince Chandra.