Dangdut Singer Got Bitten By A King Cobra, Continued Performing But Dies 45 Minutes After
A 29-year-old Indonesian traditional ‘dangdut’ singer who performs with snakes died 45 minutes after getting bitten by a poisonous King Cobra after refusing an antidote, and continuing to perform for her audience.
The King Cobra was yet to be defanged and was poisonous when the singer, Irma Bule, stepped on its tail which provoked the lethal animal to bite her thigh. And despite the snake handler offering her a cure, she refused it, with witnesses saying that she looked unaffected by the bite.
In a video taken by one of the audiences, she was kneeling down and playing with the snake when suddenly she jerked, and looked down at her thigh. The snake handler, noticing it, immediately went and knelt in front of her to observe the bite, with her acting coolly and still holding on to the snake.
A good three minutes passed as she stayed in her position, trying to look graceful and acting as though nothing happened.
The following is the video of the incident:
Irma Bule’s snake theatrics are part of her showmanship in attracting audiences, in what is seen as a saturated and competitive ‘dangdut’ market.
One of her previous videos shows her mishandling a large snake, pulling its tail, forcing it to face the audience, and wrapping it around her body - for the sake of grabbing attention.
This time however, her mishandling of the snake resulted in her early death, believed to have occurred in the middle of the second song.
Witness Ferlando Octavion Auzura was quoted on how the poison affected her 45 minutes into the show, as reported by Detik.com yesterday.
“The effects were felt 45 minutes after the bite. She vomited, had seizures, and her body seized,” Ferlando said.
The snake's venom is considered to be among the most powerful of all poisonous snakes.
The snake - Ophiophagus hannah - is predominantly found in forests from India and throughout Southeast Asia. This species is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 18.5 to 18.8 feet.
Although considered to be a highly dangerous snake it typically avoids confrontation with humans if possible.
Once at the hospital Irma passed away right after her arrival.
- mD
