Indonesian Pop Star Bitten by Prop Cobra Dies
Darwin Awards, Indonesia, Irma Bule, King Cobra
Irma Bule was in the habit of performing with several cobras as on stage props. One of them, at least, was a King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), and clearly someone had blundered.
Indonesian pop singer Irma Bule died this week after being bitten by a snake used as an on-stage prop during a live performance on Sunday.
“The accident happened in the middle of the second song when Irma stepped on the snake’s tail,” audience member Ferlando Octavion Auzura told local website merdeka.com.
“The snake then bit Irma on the thigh.” …
It’s thought that Bule believed the cobra had been defanged. She was well known for using snakes during live performances – a relatively common practice in the region – and had previously appeared with pythons and boa constrictors.
45 minutes after the bite took place, the performance was abandoned as Bule started vomiting and collapsed. She was subsequently taken to hospital, where she was later confirmed to have died.
More details from the Daily Mail.
