The world's oldest person, a 116-year-old Ecuadorean woman, died on Sunday less than a month before her birthday, her relatives told local newspapers yesterday. Maria Esther de Capovilla was declared the world's oldest person in December by Guinness World Records, lifting the title from a US woman.

Elizabeth Bolden, from Memphis, Tennessee, born August 15, 1890, had previously been regarded as the oldest living person.

Ms Capovilla was born in Guayaquil in western Ecuador on September 14, 1889, and lived with her daughter-in-law and son. She had five children, 11 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren, local media said.

Her husband died in 1949.

She died of complications from pneumonia at a local hospital, her relatives said.

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