An Iranian man nicknamed the “dirtiest man in the world” for not taking a shower for decades has died at the age of 94, state media reported on Tuesday.

Amou Haji, who did not wash for more than half a century and was single, died on Sunday in the village of Dejgah in the southern province of Fars, a National news agency reported.

Haji had avoided showering over fears of “getting sick”, the agency quoted a local official as saying.

But “for the first time a few months ago, villagers had taken him to a bathroom to wash,” IRNA reported.

A short documentary film titled “The Strange Life of Amou Haji” was made about his life in 2013, according to Iranian media outlets.