This is the terrifying moment a king cobra escaped from its box and glared at its captors.

The 12ft male serpent had slithered out of its container while animal rescuers were about to release it in a forest in Kamphaeng Phet in central Thailand, on April 25.

Footage shows the restless reptile pressing against the glass as it tried to breach the driver's cabin. When the truck pulled over, the cobra stopped moving and threw a venomous glare at the snake wranglers.

Animal rescue volunteer Sai Chon Phanphit, 38, said on Friday he had caught the cobra from a villager's house.

He said: 'Today, I put the plastic crate in the back of the truck, but I failed to secure it with a rope, allowing the snake to slither outside. I noticed it on the way to pick up another volunteer on our way to release it into Khlong Yen forest in Mae Wong National Park.

'I was shocked and worried that there might be a hole in the glass through which the cobra could squeeze. It was both terrifying and exciting. The snake slithered back and forth like it wanted to strike us.

'Finally, we reached the park and I opened the trunk to drag the cobra outside. It slithered into the forest immediately.'

Researchers found that 7,000 people are treated for snake bites each year in Thailand. Suchai Suteparuk from the Division of Toxicology at Chulalongkorn University reported that 30 of those die, with cobras being the biggest killer.