Irma Bule, an Indonesian pop star, had a reputation when it came to onstage behavior. She was known to employ a variety of props, most notably snakes — a variety of snakes to be exact. And in fact, dancing with snakes is something Indonesian pop stars have a tendency of doing. So basically, when Bule recently performed a show in the village of Karawang, West Java, a show that included her dancing with a king cobra, it wasn’t considered all that shocking.
It was what followed that was shocking.
During her performance, Bule made the mistake of accidentally stepping on the tail of the aforementioned king cobra, Rianti. The snake, not de-fanged, as is the case with the snakes Bule usually performs with, responded by biting Bule’s thigh. After the snake was wrestled away from Bule by a snake handler (a snake handler we can only assume was there working and not there by coincidence), Bule was offered an antidote. She refused. The show continued.
According to people at the show, Bule continued on for roughly 45 minutes. It was then that the effects of the snake bite started to show. Bule began vomiting, then experiencing seizures. She soon passed out before eventually dying in front of the confused and horrified audience. Bule’s mother said that the singer normally used a python. The show’s organizers had provided the deadly king cobra and had failed to tape its jaws shut, which is something typically done.
“My daughter might not have known that the snake that was given to her for the show was a dangerous cobra. She was told she could wear it, even though its mouth was not closed with duct tape,” said the entertainer’s mother.
Bule is survived by her husband and three children. The incident is currently being investigated by local law enforcement.
(Via Mediate)
