Boy bitten to death while asleep by a snake

SURIN: -- A six-year old boy was bitten to death by a poisonous snake which was suspected to have escaped floodwaters to seek warm and dry refuge in his bed without his knowledge.

The incident took place in house No 166, village 5 of Ban Prathatbu, Tambon Nadee of Surin’s Muang district today.

The mother of the boy, Mrs Sookjai Kaewsook, told reporters that her parents put her boy to bed at about 7 pm. Monday night. At about 9 pm, the boy coughed violently and complained of severe stomach-ache, so they carried him from the bed for a body scrub with a towel soaked in water only to find to their shock a two-feet long black and white snake on the bed.

The couple then beat the snake which was later identified as Thap Samingkla, a poisonous snake to death before they rushed the boy to Surin provincial hospital where a doctor and nurses tried desperately to save his life. He was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

Villagers said the Thap Samingkla snakes were common in the rice fields in the Northeast, southern and eastern regions and they usually crawled into houses to escape flood waters to seek refuge.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/boy-bitten-death-asleep-snake/


-- Thai PBS 2014-09-03

Such a tragic mishap.

I suppose the only advice that could be offered would be to thoroughly check the bedding out prior to sleeping, along with trying to ensure the sleeping area is secure which is of course a virtually impossible task.

My heart goes out to the parents for having to conduct a funeral for their child. It is indeed the most emotionally painful experience any of us could experience.

I hope there's a heaven for this boy. Feel very sad for everybody involved. RIP little boy.

So sad.

Tragic story. Anyone know anything about this snake? Did a search on Thap Samingkla and the only hit was this story. Nothing in Wikipedia either.

Very sad to read about this.

R.I.P little man...........

So terrible for the family. The grief of losing a child must be one of the worst experiences in life.

And nothing that the parents could have done really - it must be a rare event to have a snake in a bed, so not the sort of thing to check for habitually.

And is the type of snake - Thap Samingkla - the same as a banded krait? I couldn't find an answer on Google.

Tragic story. Anyone know anything about this snake? Did a search on Thap Samingkla and the only hit was this story. Nothing in Wikipedia either.

Really sad to read this news ....RIP little boy.

I often have snakes in my garden in khon kaen and the last only a few days back killed a toad ...about a foot from where I was sitting ..scary things.

I found this pic by doing a search on google Samingkla .http://www.thailandsnakes.com/tag/thailand-snake/page/3/

if this is the type of snake he was bitten by, I doubt he had any chance of survival.

Oh great, the writer couldn't bother to translate the Thai name of the snake into its English equivalent and chose to invent a new one instead. Someone who doesn't know Thai will have a hard time identifying the "Thab Saminkla" because Google has, of course, never heard about it. ทับสมิงคลา = white-banded krait/Malayan krait. Bungarus Candidus.

Heartbreaking. Poor little kid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungarus_candidus

seek warm and dry refuge in his bed without his knowledge.

Who would have ever expected that?

This is very sad.

Note to rural dwellers: Shake your bedding before retiring!

Household cats are also useful. They kill and eat everything.

Rest in Peace my small Buddy.

Very sad and heart-breaker story.

It possibly been a blue krait or a banded krait as these are nocturnal both potentially fatal if bitten.

Tragic story. Anyone know anything about this snake? Did a search on Thap Samingkla and the only hit was this story. Nothing in Wikipedia either.

It sounds like a banded KRAIT. A very poisonous snake. What a terrible way to die.

Tragic story. Anyone know anything about this snake? Did a search on Thap Samingkla and the only hit was this story. Nothing in Wikipedia either.

The snake is commonly ferred to as a banded krait. Google it. There are snake sites with photos. These snakes are always deadly. We have killed three of them in the 17 years we have lived in Buriram. Tap Saming (white and black banded, ngoo tahp samingkhla) and Sang Ateet also a banded krait, orange and black banded triangular shaped (ngoo samliam) both are extremely dangerous.

My heart goes out to the family of the little boy. I believe we had a banded krait in the garden a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately before I could get to see it, it had disappeared. It is important to all external keep doors shut as snakes often crawl inside homes. A couple of years ago I found a small dead snake under the coffee table and can only assume that it was killed by my neighbours German Shepherd.

Worst nightmare. In my case, I was only lucky. One night, I decided not to sleep in the attached room to our home. In the morning, I entered the room (usually I turn on the lights and look around, as we were on a snake infested property). I rushed into the room, without turning on the light, and without looking. I briskly walked to the other side of the bed to turn the outside lights off. A large (hopefully not poisonous) black snake raced from beneath the bed, through my legs, and into an uncovered air vent that leads under the house. I was able to cement that up.

That was case number 1.

Case number 2..... On a rubber tree plantation, I built a back patio and ran through heavy rain to grab our round metal/clay BBq. It felt heavy, and as I ran through the rain, another black snake slammed into my chest, wrapped itself around my legs and raced to the ground. I did not know yet, because the bbq was blocking my view, as I held it. I thought I stumbled on a branch, and I kicked it. It never bit....it just raced off. My wife told me the poisonous ones are faster. The bbq had a cleaning hole that was facing right to my chest. Snake thought it was a handy and warm place to coil up into until the rain stopped.

Case number 3.... Walking around Nong Prajak park in Udon, as we did each morning for 3 years. Many people out for a walk as well, and many bicycles. It was 8am. Never saw a snake there...ever. I get almost to the park bridge, and as I look up, here is the flying green snake floating in the air. It lands with a large smack just a few feet in front of us. (Maybe I was the target?). Figure the odds. Never walked comfortably in that same place anymore.

Case number 4. .. Lunchtime on the patio. My dogs barks his usual snake alert. I run out to see the problem. A large black snake tries to get under the house and fails. The snake looks at me on the patio...and decides to come up the stairs to say hello. I throw my lunch and the plate at it, and it comes quicker....heading for the entrance door. I slam the door shut, just in time, and then it drops off the patio to hide out for the next attack.

Cases 5,6,7.8. Garden work. Almost every crack had snakes. It was an old house on 2 Rai that nobody had live on for 15 years. We had cleared it recently, and it seemed all the snakes in Udon had decided to meet and form some kind of secret snake society right there.

Worst nightmare. In my case, I was only lucky. One night, I decided not to sleep in the attached room to our home. In the morning, I entered the room (usually I turn on the lights and look around, as we were on a snake infested property). I rushed into the room, without turning on the light, and without looking. I briskly walked to the other side of the bed to turn the outside lights off. A large (hopefully not poisonous) black snake raced from beneath the bed, through my legs, and into an uncovered air vent that leads under the house. I was able to cement that up.

That was case number 1.

Case number 2..... On a rubber tree plantation, I built a back patio and ran through heavy rain to grab our round metal/clay BBq. It felt heavy, and as I ran through the rain, another black snake slammed into my chest, wrapped itself around my legs and raced to the ground. I did not know yet, because the bbq was blocking my view, as I held it. I thought I stumbled on a branch, and I kicked it. It never bit....it just raced off. My wife told me the poisonous ones are faster. The bbq had a cleaning hole that was facing right to my chest. Snake thought it was a handy and warm place to coil up into until the rain stopped.

Case number 3.... Walking around Nong Prajak park in Udon, as we did each morning for 3 years. Many people out for a walk as well, and many bicycles. It was 8am. Never saw a snake there...ever. I get almost to the park bridge, and as I look up, here is the flying green snake floating in the air. It lands with a large smack just a few feet in front of us. (Maybe I was the target?). Figure the odds. Never walked comfortably in that same place anymore.

Case number 4. .. Lunchtime on the patio. My dogs barks his usual snake alert. I run out to see the problem. A large black snake tries to get under the house and fails. The snake looks at me on the patio...and decides to come up the stairs to say hello. I throw my lunch and the plate at it, and it comes quicker....heading for the entrance door. I slam the door shut, just in time, and then it drops off the patio to hide out for the next attack.

Cases 5,6,7.8. Garden work. Almost every crack had snakes. It was an old house on 2 Rai that nobody had live on for 15 years. We had cleared it recently, and it seemed all the snakes in Udon had decided to meet and form some kind of secret snake society right there.

Dude, you need a mongoose.

Worst nightmare. In my case, I was only lucky. One night, I decided not to sleep in the attached room to our home. In the morning, I entered the room (usually I turn on the lights and look around, as we were on a snake infested property). I rushed into the room, without turning on the light, and without looking. I briskly walked to the other side of the bed to turn the outside lights off. A large (hopefully not poisonous) black snake raced from beneath the bed, through my legs, and into an uncovered air vent that leads under the house. I was able to cement that up.

That was case number 1.

Case number 2..... On a rubber tree plantation, I built a back patio and ran through heavy rain to grab our round metal/clay BBq. It felt heavy, and as I ran through the rain, another black snake slammed into my chest, wrapped itself around my legs and raced to the ground. I did not know yet, because the bbq was blocking my view, as I held it. I thought I stumbled on a branch, and I kicked it. It never bit....it just raced off. My wife told me the poisonous ones are faster. The bbq had a cleaning hole that was facing right to my chest. Snake thought it was a handy and warm place to coil up into until the rain stopped.

Case number 3.... Walking around Nong Prajak park in Udon, as we did each morning for 3 years. Many people out for a walk as well, and many bicycles. It was 8am. Never saw a snake there...ever. I get almost to the park bridge, and as I look up, here is the flying green snake floating in the air. It lands with a large smack just a few feet in front of us. (Maybe I was the target?). Figure the odds. Never walked comfortably in that same place anymore.

Case number 4. .. Lunchtime on the patio. My dogs barks his usual snake alert. I run out to see the problem. A large black snake tries to get under the house and fails. The snake looks at me on the patio...and decides to come up the stairs to say hello. I throw my lunch and the plate at it, and it comes quicker....heading for the entrance door. I slam the door shut, just in time, and then it drops off the patio to hide out for the next attack.

Cases 5,6,7.8. Garden work. Almost every crack had snakes. It was an old house on 2 Rai that nobody had live on for 15 years. We had cleared it recently, and it seemed all the snakes in Udon had decided to meet and form some kind of secret snake society right there.

Dude, you need a mongoose.

For sure, as the badgers are not working out well for me...

Worst nightmare. In my case, I was only lucky. One night, I decided not to sleep in the attached room to our home. In the morning, I entered the room (usually I turn on the lights and look around, as we were on a snake infested property). I rushed into the room, without turning on the light, and without looking. I briskly walked to the other side of the bed to turn the outside lights off. A large (hopefully not poisonous) black snake raced from beneath the bed, through my legs, and into an uncovered air vent that leads under the house. I was able to cement that up.

That was case number 1.

Case number 2..... On a rubber tree plantation, I built a back patio and ran through heavy rain to grab our round metal/clay BBq. It felt heavy, and as I ran through the rain, another black snake slammed into my chest, wrapped itself around my legs and raced to the ground. I did not know yet, because the bbq was blocking my view, as I held it. I thought I stumbled on a branch, and I kicked it. It never bit....it just raced off. My wife told me the poisonous ones are faster. The bbq had a cleaning hole that was facing right to my chest. Snake thought it was a handy and warm place to coil up into until the rain stopped.

Case number 3.... Walking around Nong Prajak park in Udon, as we did each morning for 3 years. Many people out for a walk as well, and many bicycles. It was 8am. Never saw a snake there...ever. I get almost to the park bridge, and as I look up, here is the flying green snake floating in the air. It lands with a large smack just a few feet in front of us. (Maybe I was the target?). Figure the odds. Never walked comfortably in that same place anymore.

Case number 4. .. Lunchtime on the patio. My dogs barks his usual snake alert. I run out to see the problem. A large black snake tries to get under the house and fails. The snake looks at me on the patio...and decides to come up the stairs to say hello. I throw my lunch and the plate at it, and it comes quicker....heading for the entrance door. I slam the door shut, just in time, and then it drops off the patio to hide out for the next attack.

Cases 5,6,7.8. Garden work. Almost every crack had snakes. It was an old house on 2 Rai that nobody had live on for 15 years. We had cleared it recently, and it seemed all the snakes in Udon had decided to meet and form some kind of secret snake society right there.

Dude, you need a mongoose.

For sure, as the badgers are not working out well for me...

I don't think mongooses can be milked either.

Sad. This is why i hate it when it floods, you never know whats lurking under that dirty water !

. . only to find to their shock a two-feet long black and white snake on the bed.

There's only one snake in Thailand fitting that description, that can kill so quickly - the Malayan/Blue Krait. It's one of the worlds deadliest.

here's Vern with one he caught . . .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqPH85YUR9U

I may have nightmares when trying to sleep tonight...thinking about this tragic event...very sad...

Those who dislike the soi dogs, haven't been alerted to the serpents by them. One dog we have is a natural born snake killer. Yes we have had the banded kraits on several occasions. Keep the frogs and rodents out and the snakes won't bother you.

Oh great, the writer couldn't bother to translate the Thai name of the snake into its English equivalent and chose to invent a new one instead. Someone who doesn't know Thai will have a hard time identifying the "Thab Saminkla" because Google has, of course, never heard about it. ทับสมิงคลา = white-banded krait/Malayan krait. Bungarus Candidus.

Amazing that on your first post, you find a reason to complain.

Oh great, the writer couldn't bother to translate the Thai name of the snake into its English equivalent and chose to invent a new one instead. Someone who doesn't know Thai will have a hard time identifying the "Thab Saminkla" because Google has, of course, never heard about it. ทับสมิงคลา = white-banded krait/Malayan krait. Bungarus Candidus.

Amazing that on your first post, you find a reason to complain.

It's not about what somebody had written wrong, or not. It's about the tragic death of a little Thai boy that could have been our son.

Sad. Apparently the bite of this particular snake is often not painful and you don't even know you've been bitten until it takes effect some time later.

Sad story. RIP little man.

I would also like to congratulate everyone on a great thread. I was half expecting some shitty comments about Issan to creep in.

Good day for TV.

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Tragic story. Anyone know anything about this snake? Did a search on Thap Samingkla and the only hit was this story. Nothing in Wikipedia either.

Malayan Krait, also called the Blue Krait. From the written description of this snake from both the length and markings.