Who was Emma Amit? The filipino vlogger who allegedly dies by eating a 'Devil Crab'

Social media is raging with videos of several influencers where they try their taste buds on various types of dishes.

But lately, this turned scary when a food influencer allegedly died from consuming a poisonous Devil Crab, as reported by the New York Post.

Who Was Emma Amit?

Emma Amit was a 51-year-old food vlogger from Puerto Princesa, a coastal gem in Palawan's Luzviminda village, known for her day-to-day, down-to-earth videos showing local seafood adventures. Living near the mangroves with her husband, both were seasoned fisherfolk who knew the sea's bounty well, often gathering shellfish for meals and content. On February 4, 2026, she filmed herself and friends harvesting crabs, snails, and other marine finds from a nearby mangrove forest, then cooking them in coconut milk for a social media clip.

In the video, Emma took a bite of what turned out to be a toxic "devil crab" , a brightly coloured reef crutescean packed with deadly neurotoxins like saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin, poisons also found in pufferfish that cooking can't neutralise. Just a day later, she fell gravely ill with convulsions, was rushed to a clinic, and then a hospital as her lips turned dark blue in unconsciousness; she passed away on February 6 despite treatment.

Crab that turned deadly

Laddy Gemang, chief of Luzviminda village, visited her home post-incident and found the crab's bright shells in her trash, triggering an investigation. "This is really saddening because they should have known,” Gemang said, according to ABS-CBN as cited in People magazine. “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.”.

There were deaths due to crab savoury earlier too

Despite their experience, Emma and her group overlooked the risks. Gemang said that the crabs had already claimed lives locally, “To the residents of Puerto Princesa, I am urging you to be doubly vigilant,” he added, per the New York Post report.

“Do not eat these dangerous devil crabs because they have claimed two lives here in our town. Don’t gamble with your lives.”. Authorities are watching her friends from the meal for symptoms, as one reportedly died too.