In a tragic turn of events, snake expert Arslan Valeev broadcast his agonising death on the internet after intentionally allowing his pet black mamba to sink its fangs into his hand.
Heartbroken from his failed marriage, Valeev made a desperate appeal to viewers watching in dismay, urging them to contact his ex-wife as he succumbed to the effects of the venom on September 25, 2017.
The 31 year old suffered rapid deterioration during the live stream. His breathing became laboured, eyes rolled back and his body started to lose sensation due to the effects of the snake’s venom.
Arslan, alongside his former spouse Ekaterina ‘Katya’ Pyatyzhkina, had risen to online fame through their YouTube channels focused on snakes and cats, amassing a large fan base.
While the actual bite and fatal moment were not visible, the distressed Russian video blogger and ex-zoo worker displayed the resulting wound on his hand, reports the Mirror.
Towards the conclusion of the video, he rose from his seat and staggered out of frame, passing away shortly thereafter.
Friends disclosed that Arslan had suspected infidelity on Katya’s part, meanwhile reports emerged alleging he had physically assaulted her, leading her to sustain a concussion.
Arslan went on to publicly express remorse towards his wife for his actions. Despite his apology, she had finalised their divorce and entered into a new relationship.
In the harrowing live stream, Valeev announced: “Hi. So, guys. It’s time to do what I must do. Live stream [unintelligible].”
After stepping out of sight, an off-camera murmur of “ouch” hinted at the fateful encounter with the lethal serpent. Returning on camera, he ominously informed the audience: “If I die, then I die.”
In a heart-wrenching moment broadcasted live, he said: “I just will stay with you for some time. Just in case – on my mobile there is a message for Katya.”
As the situation escalated, his breaths became rapid and his eyes moved involuntarily; his muscular control seemingly began to fade.
Arslan displayed his bleeding, bitten finger and conveyed a poignant message: “Pass on to Katya that I loved her very much.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Oh, damn, how it. Bye to everyone. I can’t believe it is happening to me.”
He then proceeded to read aloud his former wife’s contact details.
Fighting through his deteriorating condition, he continued: “This is Katya’s number, if someone manages to call her, if she has time to come to me and see me, I would be happy.”
He expressed his realisation of the inevitable, saying, “In fact I’m already dying. Farewell. I would be glad to see Katya. Damn, I’m shaking.”
At least one viewer called an ambulance, which later arrived and rushed him to hospital, but medics were unable to save him.
On the broadcast, he showed his almost paralysed hands but stood up and moved away, evidently to his bathroom as the video ended.
It was also claimed that he had stumbled into the street seeking help.
Speaking out following the tragedy, Katya said she had rushed to the hospital where he had been taken – but was too late.
She still said she couldn’t bring herself to watch the last broadcast, with the shell-shocked 24-year-old saying: “I loved him very much. I cannot for now comprehend what happened.”
A day earlier he had announced a special broadcast with one of his “most beloved snakes”, called Mamba, giving no clue about his intentions.
A close associate recounted the events on his social media: “Turning on the camera, as normal, he went to get a snake out of the terrarium to move it into a plastic container used for broadcasts.”
During this seemingly routine procedure, the snake attacked him, inflicting the fatal bite.
“Being an expert in keeping poisonous snakes with 20 years experience, Arslan was aware of what had happened.”
After being bitten, he swiftly left a message for his wife Ekaterina and urged any viewers who witnessed the incident to contact Katya since numbness was rapidly overtaking his body, making it impossible for him to seek help on his own.
“He then stepped outside to await the emergency services.”
In his heartfelt post where he expressed remorse to Katya, he wrote: “I see that everything has passed for you, a new life began with someone you have long been close to.
“There were no betrayals, we had no sex since July, we parted even earlier. They started to date at the end of July and I believe Katya about this.
“I am sincerely happy about it, but too weak not to react with stupidities.”
Reflecting on his own faults, he said: “In any case, my misdemeanours have only come back to me, while your new life allows you to treat my words as … like noise, probably.
“Take this with humour, laugh at me and go further, as your current situation allows you to.”
But he shared his pain over the breakup.
He said: “I cannot describe in words the extent of my disappointment with myself.
“I cannot describe the shock that I experience every day when I wake up in this new world without someone I have lost and deserved to lose, who I was with a couple of seconds ago in a dream.
“If it makes you feel better, it hurts and I’m lonely.
“I know what to do, I’ve heard a lot of advice, but the feeling of emptiness and a broken life can only pass with time.
“Miracles do not happen, we do not live in a fairy tale.”
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