Venomous cobra dies after being bitten by an eight-year-old boy - twice

A venomous snake has died after it was bitten by a young boy from India last Monday.

The cobra died of its injuries following the attack by a child known only as Deepak, who also received a bite in the incident.

Snake expert Qaiser Hussain told The New Indian Express that the bite from the snake was a “dry bite”, meaning that while it caused “great pain”, no venom was injected.

He said: ”Deepak didn’t show any symptoms and recovered fast … Such snake bites are painful and may show only local symptoms around the area of bite.”

Deepak had been bitten by the animal while playing outside his house in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

“The snake got wrapped around my hand and bit me. I was in great pain.

“As the reptile didn’t budge when I tried to shake it off, I bit it hard twice. It all happened in a flash,” Deepak said.

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He was rushed to hospital by his family, with medical officer Dr Jems Minj saying he was “quickly administered” anti-venom and discharged after being kept under observation for “the entire day”.

It is not known what medical attention the snake received before it died.

It’s understood there are 60 species of venomous snakes in the country, while one study from 2020 – conducted by researchers from Canada, the UK and India – estimated there were 1.2 million snake bite deaths from 2000 to 2019, averaging around 58,000 a year.

Meanwhile, there is a one in 250 risk of an Indian dying from a snake bite before they turn 70.

The risk rate of a venomous snake dying from a bite from an Indian child has not been established.

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