To save an irritable cobra, a rescuer was lowered down into a 100-feet-deep well in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.

Akash Jadhav and his team were called after a cobra was spotted stranded at the bottom of the watery pit.

Jadhav noticed that the cobra had worn itself out after trying to climb out the well.

He was then lowered down towards the serpent where he managed to capture the snake and bring it back up.

Jadhav said: “This was a risky rescue as the snake was too close for my comfort. I also feared losing grip and falling into water. I did not relish the thought of swimming with a cobra by my side.”

The cobra was later released into a nearby forest.

An adult cobra fell into an irrigation well at a village near Ahmednagar in western India on March 25. The anxious farmer called Wildlife Rescue Society and a team led by Akash Jadhav rushed to the village.

Akash saw that the snake had exhausted itself trying to climb up the cement wall in vain and was lying limp hanging on to a few floating twigs.

Realising that there was no time to lose as the snake risked drowning, Akash got down immediately into the well. A colleague pushed the floating cobra towards him and Akash tried to scoop it up with a snake stick. But catching a snake with one hand , while using the other for support, proved very difficult.

The snake was also getting uncomfortably close and a desperate strike would prove life threatening.

So Akash went up and came down with a harness which freed both his hands. Though the snake was still at a striking distance he maneuvered well and put the snake in a bag. The cobra was pulled up and later released at a nearby forest.

Akash said: “This was a risky rescue as the snake was too close for my comfort. I also feared losing grip and falling into water. I did not relish the thought of swimming with a cobra by my side.”