Vets in Puri, Odisha, battled to save a deadly cobra that had its head covered in molten coal tar.

Basant Kumar, a local resident, kept a drum of coal tar in his warehouse which had spilt over, dropping the mixture on the serpent.

He immediately called Snake Helpline and a volunteer, Behera, arrived at the scene. The wildlife official found the snake's eyes and nose blocked by the tar and the animal was barely able to breathe through its mouth.

Behera removed as much tar as he could before taking the snake to a veterinary science college where a team was able to carefully remove the rest of the coal tar using sunflower oil.

Subhendu Malik, general secretary of Snake Helpline, said: "The cobra’s head was splashed in tar. So we could not use any restraining device and had to hold it carefully with our bare hands. A momentary lapse of concentration could have proven deadly.”

This footage was filmed in April 7.

Basant Kumar, a resident of Puri district in eastern India, had kept a drum of coal tar in his warehouse. Some of the tar, which had spilled over, melted in the heat of the Indian summer.

A cobra visited his warehouse looking for rodents on April 6 and was promptly trapped by the molten tar, which gradually hardened around it.

Kumar called Snake Helpline and a volunteer, Susant Kumar Behera, went to the spot and was shocked to find a cobra so badly trapped it was unable to move even its tail. Its face was fully covered in coal tar, which had blocked its eyes and nostrils as well. The cobra was barely able to breath through its mouth.

Behera secured the snake and removed as much tar as he could. He knew that it would take expert team work to get rid of the tar from the face. He wrapped the snake carefully in paper to prevent it from curling up and getting glued to itself.

On April 7, a Snake Helpline team took the cobra to a local veterinary science college where a team of vets led by Professor Indramani Nath removed the coal tar using sunflower oil. Snake Helpline volunteers held the cobra firmly as the vets patiently cleaned the cobra’s face for over two hours.

Subhendu Malik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline, said: "The cobra’s head was splashed in tar. So we could not use any restraining device and had to hold it carefully with our bare hands. A momentary lapse of concentration could have proven deadly.”