Beijing - A
Chinese woman who was certified as the tallest in the world has died, an
official from her hometown said on Wednesday.
Yao Defen, of
eastern China's Anhui province, was listed as the world's tallest woman by
Guinness World Records in 2010, when she stood 2.33m high, according to the
record compiler's website.
"Yao Defen
died in the middle of last month," a spokesperson for the government of
Shucha township, where Yao lived, told AFP by telephone.
The official, who
refused to give his name, said that he was not certain of the cause of her
death.
Yao, recorded as
the third tallest woman who ever lived, was 40 when she died. Her gigantism was
reportedly due to a tumour in her pituitary gland.
An Anhui newspaper
reported that she died on 13 November, having reached a height of 2.36m, adding
that she was already more than 2m tall when she was 15.