Bank snaked out
2004-01-29 15:00
Johannesburg - A security guard was bitten by a snake when he tried to stop it from sliding out of a box holding five puff-adders which were released at a bank in Johannesburg on Wednesday, emergency services reported.
Spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said an unidentified person apparently released the poisonous snakes at the reception area of the bank in the central business district before fleeing.
The security guard was admitted to the Milpark Hospital and treated.
Midgley said emergency services captured the snakes and they would be released into the wild.
It was not clear why the snakes were released at the bank.
Puff-adders feature prominently in snake-bite accidents. They account for up to 60% of snake bites in South Africa.
- SAPA