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Russian poker player dies in suspected electric shock accident

Russian poker player and Twitch streamer Liliya Novikova has been found dead in the bathroom of her Moscow apartment, with reports she was electrocuted while drying her hair.

Russia's Investigative Committee is investigating, with local reports suggesting the 26-year-old's death was accidental.

"During the initial examination, traces of an electrical injury were found on the victim's body," an official told Russian news agency TASS.

Novikova was widely known in online poker circles by her username liay5.

She regularly appeared on gaming social media platform Twitch, where she had a community of nearly 25,000 who subscribed to her live streams.

The 26-year-old was also active on Instagram, where she had a following of more than 16,000.

But when her family was unable to reach her on Tuesday, they became alarmed.

"Relatives became agitated when the girl stopped responding to phone calls and asked her neighbour to check on her," the Russian official told TASS.

"She found the girl's body."

Her death was announced on her official VK site, a Russian social media platform, on Wednesday.

"Leah passed away. Yesterday. Accident. She is no more. She left us," the translated post read.

News of her death prompted an outpouring of tributes from her international fanbase on a raft of social media platforms.

According to Russian news site Moskovsky Komsomolets, Novikova was a graduate of Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

She was known for her "outstanding intellect and deep mathematical knowledge", the outlet reported, which helped her succeed in poker circles.

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