Two men 200km apart bitten by snakes 'within minutes of each other' flown to same hospital

In an unusual coincidence, two men have been flown to the same hospital in Darwin, Australia, after being bitten by snakes in separate remote parts of the Northern Territory "within minutes of each other".



A man on a station near Adelaide River was bitten by a snake as he was walking in long grass, while 200km to the north another man on the Tiwis was bitten on the arm by a snake he disturbed under a building. The calls came "within minutes of each other", at about 2:00pm on Thursday, according to CareFlight co-founder Ian Badham.

He said the man on the station was driven 40 minutes to the Adelaide River clinic with his leg strapped with a compression bandage to slow the potential spread of venom. "Two separate CareFlight crew flew to the men and transferred them to Royal Darwin hospital were they are under observation in a stable condition," he said.



Mr Badham said the rescues presented a "surprising challenge" and required the CareFlight helicopter and turbo-prop aircraft to fly simultaneous missions. "Two separate medical teams to fly in opposite directions to bring them back to Darwin for observation," he said. Neither man required antivenom.