Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Aug 19: The driver of a LPG tanker who was overtaken by fear after a serpent suddenly coiled around his leg, regained his senses in time and brought the vehicle to a stop before any tragedy happened as a result. The incident happened near Uppinangady in the taluk on Friday August 18.

When the tanker loaded with LPG was moving from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, driver of the tanker, Palanivelu, had some strange sensation in his leg after the tanker crossed Kootelu bridge near Uppinangady. He looked down and was overtaken by fear at the sight of a serpent that had tightly gripped his leg. He instantly lost grip over his steering wheel, shook his leg violently, got rid of the serpent, and sat over the driver's seat. The tanker began to move on its own without any control and was about to hit a vehicle coming from the front, when Palanivelu regained composure and applied hand brake at which the tanker stopped in the middle of national highway 75.

Traffic was affected for over an hour as the tanker was stranded in the middle of the road. Moving of the tanker aside was a risky proposition as the serpent continued to be inside the tanker. A local man, known as Snake Zakaria, was requested to assist. Zakaria easily rescued the serpent that had been holed inside the battery box of the tanker by then by using a small stick.