A 35-year-old British man has been stabbed to death in woodland in Portugal while he played the Blue Whale suicide game, it has been claimed.

The victim, who has not been named, was allegedly attacked after a row broke out between a group of friends while they played the notorious suicide game, the online challenge which has been linked to a series of deaths around the world.

Police found the victim’s body in remote woodland between the localities of Poco Negro and Soalheira, near the central town of Pedrogao Grande, yesterday.

A 26-year-old man, also described as British, handed himself in and reportedly confessed to the crime during the Blue Whale game. 

Detectives spent yesterday questioning at least three men and two women, including the Brit described as the chief suspect.

It was not immediately clear this morning how many of them will be ordered to appear before a judge in court and when the court appearance will take place.

A 35-year-old British man has been stabbed to death in woodland in Portugal while he played the Blue Whale suicide game, it has been claimed. Pictured: Police officers prepare to lift the victim’s body, which has been placed in a grey box, into a waiting vehicle 

Drone footage of police officers transporting the victim’s body into a waiting vehicle 

Police found the victim’s body in remote woodland between the localities of Poco Negro and Soalheira, near to the central town of Pedrogao Grande, yesterday. File image of area near Pedrogao Grande

The group that raised the alarm are thought to have attended a private party on Saturday night with the victim and that in the middle of the night they went to an isolated woodland area to start the Blue Whale Suicide game

Police had been alerted to the 35-year-old victim’s body by the group of friends at around 6.30am yesterday. The group, who are said to have appeared scared and nervous, accompanied them to the scene.  

The ongoing investigation is being led by Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria force, which has not yet released a comment. 

The group that raised the alarm are thought to have attended a private party on Saturday night with the victim and that in the middle of the night they went to an isolated woodland area to start the Blue Whale Suicide game. 

In the hours that ensued, the 35-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death, with his body found with several stab wounds. 

The bladed weapon with which the 26-year-old Briton is said to have attacked the victim with was also recovered from the scene.

The alleged attacker reportedly went to a police station in the village of Figueiro dos Vinhos about a 15-minute drive from Pedrogao Grande, to tell officers what had happened.

A police source told local press: ‘He was accompanied by two other people who had witnessed the incident.’ 

A post-mortem was expected to take place today in the university city of Coimbra. 

The people questioned by police, including the suspect, are thought to be part of a group of foreigners living in a commune near to the crime scene. They have been described locally mainly as British and Dutch nationals. 

Footage published by Portuguese daily Correio da Manha showed GNR officers lifting the dead man’s body on a stretcher after it was covered with a sheet and putting it into the back of a nearby police van.

A waiting Red Cross ambulance took it to Coimbra after police reached the nearest tarmacked road.

Respected Portuguese broadcaster SIC said the group often held parties and played the Blue Whale game. MailOnline has contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment.

The lethal Blue Whale ‘game’ involves 50 tasks in as many days, aimed at ‘creating psychologically traumatising situations’, ending with suicide.  

Participants join a ‘group’ where the tasks are set by a group ‘administrator’ and can range from watching horror movies to waking at strange hours, and eventually progresses to self harming.

On the 50th day, the controlling manipulators behind the game, which originated in Russia in 2015, reportedly instruct the participants, who are usually teenagers, to kill themselves.

The game, which reportedly started in Russia, has caused numerous deaths around the world, including Ukraine, India and the United States. 

First reports about its victims appeared in Russia in 2016, and in 2020 police in Britain issued a warning to parents to be mindful of their children’s online activities, urging them to talk about the dangers they can face.

Police officers lift a grey box containing the victim’s body into a waiting vehicle

The victim, who has not been named, was allegedly attacked after a row broke out between a group of friends while they played the notorious suicide game, the online challenge which as been linked to a series of deaths around the world

At the time, Northants Police said: ‘We are aware of a disturbing social media challenge circulating called the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ which encourages teenagers to take part in a series of 50 challenges that culminate in committing suicide.

‘This challenge first appeared in 2016 and tasks are given online or through text messages, instant messages or posts on Instagram and Twitter. 

‘Please talk to your children about the dangers and tell them not to open any messages or challenges of this kind.’ 

In 2016, Russian Philipp Budeikin, then 21, claimed to have invented the game three years earlier.

He was arrested and convicted on two counts of inciting the suicide of a minor. He also admitted to ‘inciting at least 16 teenage girls to commit suicide’.

A Siberian court sentenced him to three years in jail in July, 2017.

Having at first claimed he was ‘just having fun’, the former psychology student, who was expelled from his university, later said his intention was to ‘cleanse society’.

In May, a Ukrainian mother of a school boy who survived the Blue Whale suicide ‘game’ shared her concerns that the abusers ‘will hunt her son again until they kill him’.

Olga Tkachenko and her son, Mykyta Kovalchuk, ten, shared their story on a talk show and warned others not to get hooked by the perpetrators who drive children and teenagers to suicide.

‘I want to warn parents about such situations that break the lives and destinies of many,’ said the mother in a recent television interview.

Last September, Mykyta jumped from a six-storey balcony in Kyiv, Ukraine, while carrying out his final challenge given him by a Blue Whale ‘mentor’.

It happened after Mykyta came home from school feeling not well and Olga left their apartment to buy medicine to reduce his fever.

While she was away, the boy reportedly drank some alcohol, went to the balcony and climbed to the windowsill.

Mother Olga Tkachenko and her son, Mykyta Kovalchuk, ten, (pictured together) shared their story during a talk show and warned others not to get hooked by the perpetrators who drive children and teenagers to suicide, and shared her concerns that they ‘will hunt her son again until they kill him’

Last September, Mykyta Kovalchuk, ten, (pictured on life support) jumped from a six-storey balcony in Kyiv while carrying out his final challenge given him by a Blue Whale mentor

He drew Valentine’s heart on the glass of a balcony window before stepping out, according to reports.

When mother returned home, she met police officers and neighbours near the front door of her apartment. They told her that Mykyta had just been taken to hospital in critical condition.

‘He was a well-behaved child and good at studying. He had everything he needed. I could not understand how it could happen to him and to my family,’ Olga said.

For Mykyta’s luck, he avoided fatal damage to his internal organs or bones after falling from 66ft height.

‘Mykyta was in severe condition but his spinal cord was not damaged and it gave us hope,’ the mother said.

The next two months the boy spent in hospital, half of this period in intensive care.

Today, nine months after the incident, he is doing well physically, but his mother believes that ‘his abusers will hunt him again and that his life is still in danger’.

‘I live in constant anxiety and fear for my son’s life. I fear they will find him again to get the job done this time,’ Olga said.

If you have been affected by the contents on this story, confidential support can be found by calling Samaritans on 116 123, or by visiting samaritans.org.