A youth died and his mother was fighting for her life after they were bitten by a snake at Chikkanna Kuppam near Vaniyambadi in Tirupattur district on Thursday.
The police said S. Govindan, 52, who runs a tea-shop at Chikkanna Kuppam; his sons G. Diwakar, 23, and G. Harikrishnan, 18; and wife G. Tharamani, 45, were sleeping at the family’s asbestos-roofed house at the centre of a paddy field on the outskirts of the village.
Forest Department officials said a common krait could have bitten Harikrishnan and Tharamani, who was sleeping next to him. As the mother and the son felt tired and a severe pain, they informed their family members, who rushed them to the Government Taluk Hospital at Vaniyambadi, five km from the village.
As their condition turned serious, they were referred to the Government District Headquarters Hospital in Krishnagiri. But Harikrishnan died on the way to Krishnagiri, and his mother is under treatment.
“The two set it down as a rat bite and lost the golden hour by failing to alert the family members. By the time they were brought to the hospital, it was too late,” said Ambika, medical officer, Government Taluk Hospital.
