Cobra dies after being bitten twice by eight-year-old boy in India

A cobra snake died after an eight-year boy from India's Chhattisgarh state bit it twice to fight off the reptile when it attacked him, Indian media reported.

The cobra attacked Deepak and wrapped itself around his hand when was playing in the backyard of his house in the Jashpur district.

The snake bit Deepak before it wrapped itself around his hand, reported the New Indian Express. To fight off the creature, the boy bit back the snake "hard twice". He told the media that he was in incredible pain when the snake bit his hand.

He first tried to shake off the reptile but it would not budge. In a desperate attempt to remove the snake, he had to bite it.

"It all happened in a flash,” Deepak told local media.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital immediately where the medical staff gave him "anti-snake venom". 

Dr Jems Minj, a medical officer, said that Deepak was "kept under observation for the entire day" before being discharged.

Reportedly, the experts said that the boy had luckily received a "dry snake bite" where the cobra does not release any venom. While he was in great pain, no venom was transferred to his bloodstream.

Following Deepak's "hard" bites, the snake reportedly died due to the bite injuries.

India has approximately 300 species of snakes out of which 60 are highly venomous. The nonprofit scientific journal eLife reported that 1.2 million people passed away in India from 2000 to 2019 due to snake bites.

Nearly 70% of these deaths are from eight main states including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.