A South African man who was thought to be the world’s oldest man has died at the age of 116 although that was never documented by the Guinness World Records.
Fredie Blom’s identity documents indicate he was born in Eastern Cape province in May 1904.
When Blom was a teenager, his whole family was wiped out by the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. he also survived two world wars and apartheid.
Back in 2018, Blom told BBC that there was no special secret about living longer.
“There’s only one thing – it’s the man above [God]. He’s got all the power. I have nothing. I can drop over any time but He holds me,” he said.
Blom spent most of his life as a laborer, first on the farm, and later in the construction industry but retired in his 80s.
Blom was a regular smoker but quit drinking many years ago.
However, coronavirus-related lockdown imposed by the South African government meaning he was unable to buy tobacco to smoke on his 116th birthday.
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According to his family, Blom died of natural causes in Cape Town on Saturday.
“Two weeks ago oupa [grandfather] was still chopping wood,” family spokesman Andre Naidoo told AFP news agency. “He was a strong man, full of pride.”
Andre further stated that his grandpa shrank “from a big man to a small person”.
The family did not believe Blom’s death was related to Covid-19.
