The Voice Contestant Ifunanya Nwangene Dead After Being Bitten by Snake in Her Sleep

The music community has lost a rising star.

Five years after competing on The Voice Nigeria, Ifunanya Nwangene died from a snake bite Jan. 31, Amemuso Choir music director Sam C. Ezugwu confirmed. She was 26.

“Amemuso Choir regrets to announce the sudden demise of our beloved Soprano, Ifunaya Nwangene,” the Facebook post shared, noting that she had died at the hospital. “A rising star, Ifunanya was on the cusp of sharing her incredible talent with the world.”

He concluded, “Her voice and spirit will be deeply missed.”

Following her tragic death, Nwangene’s friend Hillary Obinna told the BBC Africa that the singer had been asleep in her Abuja apartment when a snake bite “woke her up.”

Ezugwu further detailed the following events to the outlet, recalling hospital staff “trying to stabilise her,” adding that Nwangene “could not speak, but she could make hand gestures. She was struggling to breathe.”