Teenager saves friend from snake attack; suffers severe bite

While youngsters across the city celebrated Friendship Day by tying colourful ribbons with messages on each other's wrists, 15-year-old Ramshad Kodakate displayed what true friendship is all about.

A friend indeed: Ramshad Kodakate (15) was admitted to the ICU ward at Rajawadi Hospital as he was suffering from blurred vision after he was bitten by a snake

Kodakate braved a snake's fangs to save his friend, Manish Pradhan. The incident took place at RCF Colony in Chembur on Sunday evening.

Around 4.30 pm, Kodakate and his friends gathered at a nearby ground for a game of cricket and after the game decided to take a quick dip in a small pond adjacent to the ground.

"We don't go to play there often but since it was Friendship Day, we wanted to celebrate it and met early in the evening to have fun," said Ankit Gupta, a classmate of Kodakate.

While Kodakate was waiting for the rest of the group to come, he noticed a small reptile heading towards Pradhan.

He tried to alert Pradhan about the fast approaching reptile, but when he didn't hear him, Kodakate jumped in the way and threw the reptile away. Unfortunately, the snake bit his hand.

The teenager suffered swelling and underwent unbearable pain.

He was rushed to a nearby clinic where he was advised to go to a hospital immediately. He was later admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Rajawadi Hospital. "We got scared as my son was in terrible pain and his vision was blurred. For a minute I felt as if my son wouldn't survive," said his father Mohammad Umar Kodakate. The teenager was later shifted to the medical ward and kept under observation on Monday.

"I lost my elder grand child four years ago and since then we are very careful about him (Manish). We generally don't allow him to go out to play but since it was Friendship Day, he requested us to allow him to play. I am thankful to Ramshad who saved him from the tragedy," said Manish's grandmother.u00a0