Odd News

Man bitten 5 times by snake

(AP)
Updated: 2006-10-13 09:05

SYDNEY, Australia - An Australian man was in critical condition Friday after he was bitten five times on the arm by a Death Adder, one of the world's deadliest snakes, local media reported.

A 50-year-old man remains in hospital after being bitten by a death adder five times. [Getty Images]

The 50-year-old man, whose identity was not immediately released, was attacked after he mistakenly picked up the snake believing it was a lizard, emergency officials and media reports said.

The man, who was vacationing north of Sydney, suffered a heart attack and paralysis from the wounds, but a helicopter rescue team administered two doses of antivenin and were able to revive him.

He was placed on a ventilator and flown to a hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

Death adders are common throughout Australia, which is home to several of the world's deadliest snakes. They have short, fat bodies and wide triangular heads.

Their venom causes paralysis which can shut down a human's respiratory system within about six hours, but fatalities from the snake bites are rare in Australia.