Jeff Probst shares intel on terrifying ‘Survivor 49’ venomous snake bite incident (exclusive)

Survivor had one of its franchise’s scariest moments ever on this week’s episode of Survivor 49 when a player was medically evacuated out of the game after suffering a bite from a venomous snake.

The question was not just one of whether Jake Latimer would be able to remain in the game, but rather would he be able to remain alive after coming into contact with a banded sea krait. The snake is highly venomous. Making matters even more fraught, Jeff Probst revealed on his On Fire podcast that producers actually lost radio contact with the boat transporting Jake to the medical offices at production base camp during the “terrifying” incident, leading doctors and producers to yell frantically “Is he breathing?!” as the vessel approached the dock.

Thankfully, he was. Jake was then treated by a medical staff led by Dr. Barry, who had joined the production only a week prior to fill in for longtime Survivor medical director Dr. Joe Rowles. Dr. Barry diagnosed it as a “dry bite” with no venom released, yet would not clear Jake to return to the game due to the extreme physical and psychological toll on the contestant, who was clearly concerned for his life and kept telling the team that he had a baby coming soon.

Probst also revealed that Jake needed more observation at a hospital in Australia, and after receiving IVs, fluids and “all sorts of things being injected into him,” could not reenter the game anyway due to issues of fairness and that being seen as “too much of an advantage.”

Entertainment Weekly connected with Probst to find out how the host learned about the bite, and how Jake handled the situation and took the news that he had been pulled from the game. We also asked about the decision to show all that behind-the-scenes footage, any safety instructions they gave their crew and contestants after the incident, and the super somber mood at the immunity challenge that followed.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Tell us how you first got the news that Jake had been bitten by a poisonous snake and your initial reaction to this life-threatening incident.

JEFF PROBST: I got an urgent call on my cell from (executive producer Matt Van Wagenen). He explained that we had what we thought was a snake bite, but it was unfolding in real time so there were still a lot of unanswered questions. Over the next 20 minutes, we were able to verify that it was a sea krait snake bite, and by that time Jake was already being transported to base camp, where a very experienced medical team was ready to receive him.

We only see such a small fraction of what happens, so describe for me how Jake was handling the situation as he was being treated, and after he got the word he could not continue.

Jake was remarkably calm throughout the entire ordeal. He was in a fair amount of pain from the bite, and he was understandably very concerned as the sea krait is very venomous, which added stress, which exacerbated everything else. It was intense. I was really impressed with how Jake was able to handle all of the physical pain and emotional distress with a flood of adrenaline coursing through his body and uncertainty hovering over everything.

When we had to tell Jake he was being pulled from the game, it almost felt like relief for Jake. I think he knew it was coming. The amount of medical attention being paid to him was unmatched in any other evacuation on Survivor. Even if he had been physically able to return, I don’t think he would have been emotionally ready. It seemed to me that all his thoughts were on his wife and unborn child. So when he got the news he was being pulled, it was as if he was able to fully breathe for the first time.

You’ve shown some behind-the-scenes stuff before, but I’m not sure you’ve ever shown actual base camp in this extensive way. Tell me about the decision to show crew like producer Jimmy Quigley on the dock, the medical office, and things like Alex showing the Survivor binder of information?

The decision of what we showed in the episode was dictated by what happened. Once everything was finished and we knew Jake was going to be okay, then we started exploring how we might structure this event in terms of storytelling and how many different elements of the story we would include. We decided to reveal every element, but to do it in stages, only showing what we needed to show in the moment so that the audience could experience it the same way the players and producers experienced it.

You’ve been doing this for a long time in this location without any similar incidents, but what sort of instructions — if any — did you give your crew like producers at the tribe camps and safety swimmers in the water in terms of protocol or safety measures after what happened with Jake?

We reached out to every Fijian crew member, every Fijian doctor, every Fijian wildlife expert and not a single person had ever heard of a sea krait biting a human. That’s how rare it is. So we felt very comfortable assuring the players they were safe to continue fishing and swimming and bathing in the water, because the odds of this happening again were very unlikely.

Finally, I’ve never seen people so unenthused to win a challenge. The other tribes looked like they felt so bad watching poor Kele lose again, especially after they also lost Jake earlier that day. You’re also a human in addition to a host, so tell me what you were feeling at that moment.

I’ve never experienced a moment like the end of that challenge. Nothing even close. You saw it on the show. It was total silence. I felt it too. It was a very powerful and completely real, spontaneous reaction. And it energized me because these are the kinds of moments that remind you that you are having a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. You’re living in a real jungle with almost no supplies. You’re surviving with… while conspiring against… everyone else. You’re playing a game with very few rules. There is no predicting what situation you may find yourself in, and until you’re in it, you have no idea how you’ll respond.

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