Philippine officials are warning the public to exercise caution after a food influencer allegedly died from eating a poisonous crustacean known as a “devil crab.”
The victim, Emma Amit, 51, had reportedly consumed the toxic shellfish for a social media video, Viral Press reported. In the clip, the gourmand and her friends are seen harvesting shellfish in a mangrove forest on Feb. 4 near her home in Puerto Princesa, a coastal town in Palawan.
The clip shows her biting a sea snail that she cooked in coconut milk along with other critters as part of a veritable seafood Bouillabaisse.
The next day, she fell gravely ill from the crab’s potent toxins, with neighbors reporting that she was convulsing while being transported to a local clinic.
She was later taken to a hospital after her health deteriorated further; Emit’s lips reportedly turned dark blue while she was unconscious.
Medics tried their best to save the patient, but to no avail, as she died on Feb. 6 — two days after eating the shellfish.
Laddy Gemang, chief of the village of Luzviminda, dispatched village officials to Emit’s home to investigate. They discovered the bright shells of the devil crabs scattered about her trash.
A denizen of reefs around the Indo-Pacific, the crustacean packs a cocktail of lethal neurotoxins, including saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin — the same poison found in pufferfish, according to Smithsonian.
The institution warned diners to avoid ingesting the critters, as the “easy on the eyes” crabs will kill you in a matter of hours.”
Gemang claimed he was baffled by Amit’s passing as she and her husband were both seasoned “fisherfolk.”
“This is really saddening because they should have known,” he lamented. “They live by the sea, so I know they know about this devil crab that’s dangerous to eat. So why did she eat it? That is what I’m confused about.”
In light of the tragic incident, the official is warning residents to refrain from eating the deadly sea creatures.
“So to the residents of Puerto Princesa, I am urging you to be doubly vigilant,” Gemand warned. “Do not eat these dangerous devil crabs because they have claimed two lives here in our town. Don’t gamble with your lives.”
Officials said they were also monitoring the deceased’s friends for symptoms.
The tragedy sent shockwaves through the community with her friend, Beverly Villanueva, deeming her passing “shocking and sudden.”
“You were like an older sister,” she wrote. “I will miss you always. I know you didn’t want to leave yet because you still had so many plans in life, but why? That’s a question that will never be answered, because you’re gone.”
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