Vloggers and social media influencers often meet a dark fate while on the lookout for shortcuts to become instant internet sensations. While acts of daredevilry have claimed the lives of many influencers across the world in the last decade, some have breathed their last in accidents under unfortunate circumstances.
The latest entrant to this list is food vlogger Emma Amit from the Palawan Province of the Philippines. It is still not confirmed if she fell victim to a genuine mix-up or a risky attempt to go "viral". What Emma did was consume Devil Crabs—a highly toxic shellfish that reportedly has a 50% kill rate among reported cases of human consumption in the Philippines.
The video of the victim harvesting devil crabs from an unidentified mangrove forest in the Palawan region before happily munching them in full was shot and posted as a video on Wednesday, 4 February, reports said. Sea snails and a variety of other crustaceans were cooked in coconut milk by the group, the video showed. It is possible that only Emma Amit ate the poisonous creature while the rest of the crew ate edible shellfish.
While it took less than 24 hours for the shellfish's toxins to contaminate the woman's bloodstream, she was declared dead on 6 February while undergoing treatment, the report said. According to neighbours, hours after feasting on the animals, the woman began convulsing and was shifted to a local clinic. Soon, her lips turned dark blue and she lost consciousness, news reports said.
What are 'Devil Crabs'?
When a probe team reached her residence, the bright shells of the devil crabs were found scattered about her trash, news reports said, which helped them to zero in on the cause of her passing.
Found in reefs around the Indo-Pacific, the Devil Crabs of the Xanthidae family contain lethal neurotoxins, including Saxitoxin (STX) and Tetrodotoxin (TTX)—the same poison found in pufferfish. STX and TTX are two of the most potent non-protein neurotoxins found in nature. They have the capability to silence nerve impulses in the human body and cause a state of flaccid paralysis.
In the backdrop of the incident, the Philippines has warned the public against consuming Devil Crabs.
