Malkangiri: Panic gripped the District Headquarters Hospital in Malkangiri on Wednesday morning after a large cobra was spotted inside the Ganesh Temple within the hospital premises.
The incident occurred when the priest went to the temple early in the morning to perform daily rituals. To his shock, he found a big king cobra with its hood raised, hissing aggressively inside the temple. Terrified, the priest ran out screaming, which immediately drew a large crowd of patients and their relatives near the temple.
Hospital authorities promptly informed the local Snake Help Line and subsequently members of the snake rescue team reached the spot and successfully rescued the cobra from inside the temple.
On seeing the massive snake, patients and attendants present in the hospital were left frightened and panicked. Fortunately, no one was bitten by the snake. However, the rescuers found that the cobra had already swallowed a rat.
Doctors at the hospital said that dense forest near the medical complex could be the reason. The snake might have ventured out from the jungle and entered the hospital premises.
Hospital authorities, meanwhile, assured that necessary precautions will be taken to prevent snakes from entering the hospital campus in the future.
