A German tourist has died after a snake crawled into his trousers and bit him as he watched a show in Egypt on a family holiday, police in Germany have said.

The 57-year-old man was watching the snake-charming show at a hotel in Hurghada, a popular beach holiday destination on the Red Sea, in early April.

The two snakes involved, thought to be cobras, were draped over the necks of audience members, police in southern Bavaria state said.

“The ‘snake charmer’ then let one of the snakes crawl into the trousers” of the German man and it bit him in the leg, they said in a statement.

The victim showed “clear signs of poisoning” and had to be resuscitated before being taken to hospital, where he later died, they said.

The man – who was not named in the statement – came from the Unterallgäu district of Bavaria and was on holiday with two relatives.

German police and prosecutors are investigating his death and are awaiting the results of a toxicology test.

When contacted by Agence France-Press, Egyptian authorities said they were not aware of the incident.