YouTuber Ms Yeah
Zhou Xiao Hui, or Yeah as she is know to her YouTube followers Image Credit: YouTube

Beijing: A Chinese influencer has agreed to pay compensation to the families of two girls - after one died in what her family says was an attempt to copy a viral video.

Yeah, 25 - whose real name is Zhou Xiao Hui - has seven million subscribers on YouTube and is known for unconventional office cooking videos.

The girls, aged 14 and 12, were allegedly copying a video in which Yeah makes popcorn in a tin can, the BBC reported on Friday.

The girls were heating up alcohol in the can when it exploded on August 22. The 14-year-old, identified as Zhezhe, later died from her injuries on September 5.

The 12-year-old girl, Xiaoyu, needs cosmetic surgery, according to her family.

Despite paying compensation, Yeah denied that the girls were replicating her video - saying they attempted a different method, and that her videos are not meant to be instructional.

The online star, who rose to fame in 2017, is known for videos in which she makes elaborate meals at work using equipment found in her office. YouTube