Vadodara: Ashokbhai Patel, a renowned snake rescuer from Avakhal village, who reportedly rescued over 2,000 snakes including the highly venomous Russell’s viper, tragically passed away after being bitten twice by a cobra while attempting another rescue in his village recently.

Ashokbhai was rushed to the Community Health Center at Mota Fofadiya by a 108 ambulance following the cobra bites.

Ashokbhai had shared a video from the ambulance stating that he was fully conscious and only experiencing some inflammation in his hand. However, according to locals, due to the lack of essential facilities such as anti-venom vaccine and oxygen at the health center, timely treatment could not be provided, which resulted in his death during treatment.

As per the reports, Ashokbhai Patel was professionally trained in snake rescue and had successfully caught and handed over more than 2,000 snakes to the forest department over the past three years.

Villagers have strongly criticized the health center staff and doctors for the lack of anti-venom serum, oxygen supply, and other necessary medicines, alleging that inadequate medical facilities led to the untimely death of the dedicated rescuer. They also claimed that although there was an oxygen line at the hospital, no oxygen cylinder was available, and the delay in treatment for over an hour proved fatal. DeshGujarat