BEIJING - The family of He Pingping, the world's shortest man, said Tuesday they were shocked by his unexpected death in Italy, saying he had shown no previous signs of bad health.

"We just did not expect this bad news," his sister He Lihua told AFP over the phone from Baotou, a city in the northern region of Inner Mongolia where he lived.

"Pingping went to Italy... and he called us every day saying he wasn't eating well and that he missed us."

He Pingping, who had been named the world's shortest man by Guinness World Records, suffered chest problems while in Rome where he was taking part in a television show, and was taken to hospital but died over the weekend.

He said her brother, who had a form of primordial dwarfism and measured 74.61 centimetres (30 inches), had showed no signs of bad health before he left for Italy.

"Unfortunately we cannot go there and we can only wait for his body to come back," He said, adding that the family would be asking the Italian company behind the television show to pay for the funeral.

Guinness World Records said it would announce He's successor as the world's shortest man in due course.

Khagendra Thapa Magar, 18, from Nepal, who is reportedly 51 centimetres (20 inches) tall, declared in February that he was the rightful holder of the title.