Concert goers got way more than they bargained for when Indonesian pop singer Irma Bule was bitten on the thigh by a large, venomous King Cobra during a Sunday [April 3] performance. She later died at a Karawang, West Java hospital.
Audience member Ferlando Octavion Auzrua told a reporter, “The accident happened in the middle of the second song when Irma stepped on the snake’s tail.”
Rather than seek immediate medical attention, Bule resumed singing on stage. Witnesses say she initially didn’t look too affected by the bite and even refused an antidote from the snake handler.
Bule reportedly believed the cobra had been defanged. She routinely used snakes during live performances, which is a relatively common practice in the region. She had previously appeared with pythons and boa constrictors.
Forty-five minutes after the bite took place, Bule started vomiting and collapsed on stage. She was subsequently taken to hospital, where she later died.
Indonesian police are investigating the incident.
