A resident of Cuttack in eastern India was shocked to find a deadly cobra in his kitchen yesterday (October 29).

In a panic, Ratnakar Sahoo moved a cooking gas cylinder to look for the snake but then accidentally dropped it on the tail of the reptile.

Sahoo called Snake Helpline who sent in a team of two to catch the cobra.

They found that nearly a hundred people had gathered in front of Sahoo’s poor home to get a glimpse of the cobra.

They pinned the cobra's head with a special implement, picked it up and placed it in a bag so that it could be released safely away from homes.

Ratnakar Sahoo, a villager near Cuttack in eastern India, heard a hissing noise in his kitchen on the evening of October 28.

When he moved the cooking gas cylinder, while trying to probe, a cobra lifted its hood warning him to keep distance. In panic, Sahoo dropped the cylinder on the tail of the deadly snake, and fled.

He made an SOS call to Snake Helpline and a two-member team led by Lalit Mohan Panda went to the spot. They found that nearly a hundred of people had gathered in front of Sahoo’s poor home to get a glimpse of the cobra.

Lalit first evacuated them and then entered the tiny kitchen. Rescue work was not easy as the four-feet long cobra was highly agitated and kept its head up without giving a chance for Lalit to reach for its tail. Left with no option left, Lalit pinned the cobra's head down with his snake hook and gently moved the cylinder to free the snake. He caught it by the tail and brought it out of the kitchen.

As there were no injuries on the snake, Lalit released it in a suitable natural habitat in the night itself.

Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline, said: "It was a difficult rescue. More than the snake, the crowd tested our patience.”