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Indonesian pop star collapses from cobra bite during concert, dies

By Marilyn Malara
A king cobra latched on to Indonesian pop singer Irma Bule during a performance, killing her less than an hour later after she insisted on continuing her show. Photo by Guillermo Pis Gonzalez/UPI
A king cobra latched on to Indonesian pop singer Irma Bule during a performance, killing her less than an hour later after she insisted on continuing her show. Photo by Guillermo Pis Gonzalez/UPI

KARAWANG, Indonesia, April 7 (UPI) -- An Indonesian pop singer is dead after being bitten by a king cobra and collapsing onstage during a performance.

Dangdut singer Irma Bule, famous for performing with snakes on a regular basis, was reportedly singing at a party when the venomous cobra latched on to her leg for several seconds before being removed by a handler.

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A fan video shows the moment of the bite taken to the 29-year-old singer's right thigh. It caused her body to jerk before a handler appeared to have attempted to extract the venom with his mouth.

Reports said Bule refused antivenom and continued to perform for 45 minutes until she began vomiting and seizing. She was rushed to a hospital at the time but was pronounced dead soon after.

The incident took place in a village in Karawang, West Java.

Eyewitnesses told Indonesian news outlet Merdeka Bule accidentally stepped on the cobra's tail during the middle of her second song of the night. In response, it bit her. The snake was not de-fanged before the show.

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