TOKYO, Oct 31: Kamato Hongo, the world’s oldest person, died on Friday at the age of 116 years, with her sense of humour still intact until her last days.

She succumbed to malfunctions of her heart and kidney resulting from pneumonia at the municipal hospital in Kagoshima, 950 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, where she lived, a hospital spokesman said.

“As a sort of farewell, she performed her favourite hand dance yesterday while lying in bed before her next of kin. She knew that her time was near,” her 47-year-old grandson Tsuyoshi Kurauchi said.—AFP