Fredie Blom: ‘World’s oldest man’ dies aged 116 in South Africa

A South African who was thought to be the oldest man in the world has died at the age of 116.

Fredie Blom’s identity documents showed he was born in Eastern Cape province in May 1904, although that was never verified by Guinness World Records.

When he was teenager, his entire family was wiped out by the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. He went on to survive two world wars and apartheid.

Mr Blom told the BBC in 2018 that there was no special secret to his longevity. (BBC)