In front of his parents' house 16-year-old dies after snake bite in Australia
Snake bites are not always painful - and are sometimes not even recognized as such at first. For a teenager from Queensland, all help came too late.
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- In Australia, a 16-year-old boy was fatally bitten by one of the world's most venomous snakes outside his parents' home.
- The teenager didn't even notice the bite at first.
- After he collapsed in the house, he was taken to hospital.
In Australia, a 16-year-old boy was fatally bitten by one of the world's most venomous snakes outside his parents' house. The eastern brown snake caught the teenager by the foot in Gladstone in the tropical state of Queensland, reported 9News, citing the family. The teenager did not even realize he had been bitten at first and only collapsed later when he was back in the house.
Snake bites are not always painful. Sometimes they look more like a light scratch or abrasion. This can result in valuable time being lost to save the victim with an antivenom.
Two fatal snake bites per year
This was also the case with the teenager from Queensland. He was eventually taken to Gladstone Hospital in a life-threatening condition and then flown to Brisbane in a rescue helicopter. However, all help came too late: the victim died on Wednesday. "His death has left an indescribable void in our hearts and in the family," the relatives wrote in a statement.
In Australia, an average of one to two people die every year from snake bites - the vast majority in recent years from attacks by the Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis), which is widespread throughout most of the country. The animals are considered the second most venomous snakes in the world after the inland taipan, which is also native to Australia.
dpa