SAMUT PRAKAN – A 39-year-old man died after a fatal King Cobra bite, having made a final phone call to his grandmother early on Wednesday. He told her he loved her, then lost consciousness as the venom took hold.
Police found the man, identified as Mr Mai, in his second-floor office at his home in Sisa Chorakhe Yai, Bang Sao Thong district. Officers arrived at around 9.00 a.m. on 23 October.
Pol. Lt. Col. Thanakorn Rattanawilai, deputy investigator at Bang Sao Thong Police Station, attended the scene with a forensic doctor from Ramajakri Naruebodindra Institute and officers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation. The team noted fang wounds on the left wrist and assessed that he had been dead for at least two hours.
His grandmother, Ms Lek, aged 74, described the call she received at 6.40 a.m. Her grandson asked, “Grandma, do you love this grandson?” She replied that she loved him very much. He then said a cobra had bitten him and asked her to take care of things if anything happened.
Ms Lek said his voice soon became slurred, his tongue stiffened, and then the line went quiet. She phoned another granddaughter, who rushed to the house with relatives. They attempted CPR and contacted emergency services, but he could not be revived.
Officers found a cobra of nearly one metre inside the property. Volunteer snake catchers were called and removed it safely.
Investigators believe the man, who lived alone, came across the snake after it entered his home and tried to handle it himself. He was bitten on the wrist without proper gear or training. The venom likely reached his heart in under 30 minutes, which proved fatal.
The body was taken to the forensic unit at Ramajakri Naruebodindra Institute for post-mortem examination to confirm the cause of death.
Rescue workers secured the cobra and handed it to the Bang Chalong Subdistrict Administrative Organization fire department. It will be sent to the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, a national centre for antivenoms and vaccines, before being released back to the wild.
King Cobra Deaths in Thailand
King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, is Thailand’s most iconic and feared snake. It features in folklore and is linked to many deadly incidents. It is the longest venomous snake in Southeast Asia, growing to 3 to 5.5 metres, with rare Thai specimens reported at more than 18 feet. Its colour ranges from olive brown to black with chevron bands.
When threatened, it spreads a hood that shows pale yellow ovals. It lives in lowland forests, mangroves, rubber plantations, and rice fields from Chiang Mai to the Malay border, favouring humid areas near streams. Unlike most cobras, it hunts other snakes, including rat snakes, pythons, and smaller cobras, and will also take lizards and rodents.
Its venom is mainly neurotoxic. Postsynaptic blockers can paralyze the breathing muscles, and cytotoxins can damage tissue. A single bite can deliver 200 to 500 mg of venom, well above the lethal dose for humans.
Symptoms can begin within minutes, starting with blurred vision and dizziness, then spreading paralysis that leads to respiratory failure. Without antivenom, death can occur in 30 minutes to six hours.
Thailand records an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 snakebite deaths each year, with king cobras linked to 5 to 10 percent in rural provinces such as Chanthaburi, Surat Thani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Thai Red Cross data from 2020 to 2024 lists 47 confirmed deaths, mostly rice farmers and rubber tappers bitten on the limbs during dusk activity. Children under 15 make up 28 percent of deaths due to delays in reaching hospitals in remote areas.
Prevention starts with simple steps, such as wearing boots, using a torch, and avoiding tall grass. The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute produces a polyvalent antivenom that works against king cobra venom. Survival exceeds 95 percent if given within two hours.
Access remains difficult in parts of the southern islands and the northeastern highlands, where the nearest clinic may be hours away by motorbike. Community training in pressure immobilization and fast transport has reduced deaths by 40 percent since 2018.
The king cobra still stands as a symbol of Thailand’s wild nature, striking and often misunderstood, and when cornered, deadly.
