‘The Voice’ singer dead at 26 after snake bites her in sleep: ‘Everybody is shattered’

Ifunaya Nwangene, a beloved singer who starred on Season 3 of “The Voice Nigeria’ has died in heartbreaking and nightmarish fashion.

According to TMZ, the 26-year-old died on Jan. 31 at a Nigerian hospital after she was bitten by a venomous snake while she slept. BBC Africa reported that a video shared to social media showed a snake handler removing a snake from her apartment after her death. The outlet reported that people can be heard in the video screaming, “It’s a cobra!”

The outlet said that a friend of Nwangene, Hillary Obinna, said “the snake bite woke her up.” BBC Africa also reported that two snakes were later found in her apartment.

Sam Ezugwu, a friend of Nwangene who also founded the choir that she sang in, said that the hospital had one of the antivenoms required to treat the bite, but did not have a second that it needed.

“While they were trying to stabilize her, she could not speak but she could make hand gestures,” he told the outlet. “She was struggling to breathe.”

The hospital denied that the anti-venom was unavailable.

“Our medical staff provided immediate and appropriate treatment, including resuscitation efforts, intravenous fluids, intranasal oxygen, and the administration of polyvalent snake antivenom,” a statement from the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, said per BBC Africa.

Nwangene appeared on “The Voice” in 2021.

BBC Africa said she was “known for her versatility, blending jazz, opera, classical music and soul.”

Obinna called her “a very wonderful girl, she is humble — very intelligent and very talented.”

“Everybody is shattered,” Obinna said. “We could not sleep at night.”