World's oldest man dies aged 112

Saturnino de la Fuente died at his home in León in northwest Spain.
Saturnino de la Fuente died at his home in León in northwest Spain.

A Spaniard believed to be the world's oldest man has died at the age of 112. 

Saturnino de la Fuente died at his home in León in northwest Spain on Tuesday, Guinness World Records confirmed. 

De la Fuente was crowned as the oldest living man by Guinness World Records in September 2021. He was born on February 11, 1909 in the Puente Castro neighbourhood of León.

A cobbler by trade, he started his career working in a shoe factory at 13 years old. 

De la Fuente - also known as 'El pepino' - married Antonina Barrio Gutiérrez in 1933. Between them they had seven daughters and one son, as well as 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. 

De la Fuente survived the Spanish flu pandemic, which broke out in 1918 and killed 50 million people. He also managed to avoid being enlisted to fight in the 1936 Spanish Civil War because he was too short, he told Guinness World Records before his death.

He went on to start a successful shoemaker business and is well known in the local area. 

He will be buried on Wednesday (local time) at a nearby cemetery, the state-owned news agency EFE said.