A Russell's viper, one of the world’s most venomous snakes, was safely rescued from an open well after five days.

A resident of Phuleswari slum in Bhubaneswar, India, spotted the snake inside a nearby open well on February 13. The snake had probably fallen into the 35-feet well chasing a frog or some other prey.

Scared local residents stopped drawing water from the well.

After learning about the incident on February 18, volunteers of a local organisation, Snake Helpline, rushed to the well and dropped a well-hook and rope to rescue the snake from the well.

The Russell's viper immediately clung to the hook. The volunteers of Snake Helpline pulled the rope slowly, dropped the snake in a rescue bag, and released it later in its natural habitat.

Subhendu Mallik of Snake Helpline said many volunteers in India tended to get into the well while rescuing snakes and put themselves in unnecessary danger.

“It is advisable snakes especially cobras and vipers are rescued using well-hooks as they allow the rescuers to stay outside the well,” he said.

A well hook is a traditional tool made of iron hooks and used to pull out objects like buckets which fall into the well accidentally.

Mallik added that he had advised the local residents to disinfect the well and use the water after a day.