Man catches king cobra with bare hands, dies

The 57-year-old man, whose name was not revealed, was helping his neighbor catch the snake, which he thought was non-venomous, his family said. The men were trying to catch the snake because they were afraid it would eat their livestock.

After the snake went into a hole in his yard, the man dug the place and grabbed the snake with his hands. It bit him when he was trying to put it into a bag.

The king cobra caught by a group of men in Dong Nai Province on July 10, 2022.

The man did not go to hospital immediately, only realizing the seriousness of the bite after his hand showed signs of necrosis, by which time the poison had caused multiple organ failure.

His condition did not improve with dialysis at the hospital, so he was sent home, where he died. The snake was later caught and killed by locals.

In 2020, a 38-year-old man in the southern province of Tay Ninh was hospitalized after a king cobra bit him and coiled itself around his arm. He recovered after spending weeks in intensive care.

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), the world’s longest venomous snake, delivers enough poison in a single bite to kill an elephant. The fatality rate is high if victims are not promptly treated.