Chef dies after spitting cobra he was cooking bit him on the hand - 20 minutes after he had cut its head off

A chef preparing a dish made from cobra flesh died after the snake bit his hand - 20 minutes after he had severed it from its body.

Peng Fan from Foshan, Guangdong province, southern China, had been preparing a special dish made from Indochinese spitting cobra, a rare delicacy.

It was as he went to chuck the cobra's head in the bin that it bit him, injecting Mr Peng with its flesh-killing, neurotoxic venom.

The severed head of a decapitated snake snaps in purely reflexive fury, as did the one that killed chef Peng Fan as he prepared it for diners at a restaurant in Foshan, Guangdong province, China

The snake was being diced up to be made into snake soup, which is a delicacy in Guangdong and a much sought after dish in the province's high-end restaurants.

Restaurant guest Lin Sun, 44, who was in the restaurant with his wife Su at the time said: 'We were in the restaurant having a meal for my wife's birthday when suddenly there was a lot of commotion.

'We did not know what was happening but could hear screams coming from the kitchen.

'There were calls for a doctor in the restaurant but unfortunately by the time medical assistance arrived the man had already died.

'After we heard that we did not continue with our meal.'

Police say Peng died before he could be given life saving anti-venom in hospital. Victims of the Indochinese spitting cobra generally asphyxiate after the neurotoxin paralyses their respiratory system.

A police spokesman said: 'It is a highly unusual case but it appears to be just an accident. The man had a very severe reaction to the bite.

'There was nothing that could be done to save the man. Only the anti-venom could have helped but this was not given in time.

'He prepared the snake himself and was just unlucky. It was just a tragic accident.'