/ 7 December 2004

Two poisonous snakes bite man in one day

A Norwegian man with an illegal collection of exotic animals was rushed to the hospital twice in one day after being bitten by two different poisonous snakes, police said.

The man in his thirties was bitten by a rattlesnake on Monday night, said police in Asker, near Oslo.

”The man was not in good condition, so he was taken to the hospital,” police spokesperson Tore Hagen told Oslo newspaper Verdens Gang in its Tuesday edition.

Afterward, police learned the man had been taken to the hospital earlier the same day after being bitten by a Malaysian palm viper, but checked himself out.

Though he survived both bites, his illegal collection of exotic pets, including four snakes, was confiscated and he faces charges of illegally importing wildlife into Norway, police said. — Sapa-AP