A man in his 60s has died following a snake bite in central Queensland after helping to remove the reptile that had coiled around his friend’s leg.
Two men were treated by the Queensland Ambulance Service in Koumala, a town 60km south of Mackay, shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday evening.
They were at Koumala state school attending a celebration for the school’s 100-year anniversary.
The snake was coiled around one man’s leg, and the second man was bitten as he helped to remove it.
Claire Bertenshaw, the Queensland Ambulance Service’s acting deputy commissioner for operations south, said the man had likely been bitten on the arm.
“There was a rapid call for an ambulance and bystanders performed CPR immediately as the man collapsed,” Bertenshaw said at a press conference on Sunday.
The man who removed the snake was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived on the scene. They performed CPR and used a defibrillator.
“Despite heroic measures by both the bystanders and the Queensland Ambulance Service, he was unfortunately unable to be revived and has passed away.”
The second man, also in his 60s, was transported to Mackay Base hospital and is in a stable condition.
“The other fellow is well – he was taken to the hospital last night. I can’t say with any certainty whether he was bitten or not,” Bertenshaw said.
“My thoughts are with the family and friends of the patient who tragically lost their life last night.”
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Authorities are uncertain of the species of the snake involved. “From the symptoms that the patient had, and the cardiac collapse, it would be more than likely a brown snake,” Bertenshaw said.
There are seven venomous snake species found in central Queensland, including the highly venomous eastern brown snake and the coastal taipan.
Bertenshaw reiterated the first aid steps people should take if bitten by a snake.
“We want to try and limit the amount that [any venom] moves around your body and what is circulated around,” she said.
“You need to lie down, stay still as possible, call for help as quickly as possible. Have someone else apply a pressure immobilisation bandage to the affected limb – and that should be about as tight as you would do for a sprain – and just wait for help to arrive. Try and stay as calm as possible.”