CHENNAI: A nine-year-old boy died after he was bitten by a cobra near Kundrathur on Monday.

The deceased was identified as Abhishek (9), a Class 4 student at a government school in Kundrathur. He was the son of Vaiyapuri, an electrician, and the family resides at Natham village near Kundrathur.

On Sunday, Abhishek's mother was boiling water at the back of their house. While she was cooking, Abhishek offered to help her by bringing firewood stored behind the house. As he picked up the firewood bundles, a snake that was hiding among the logs bit him on the hand.

Hearing his cries, his father rushed to the spot and immediately took Abhishek to a nearby hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, neighbours searched for the snake and later confirmed that it was a cobra, which escaped into nearby bushes.

Due to the seriousness of the bite, Abhishek was referred for advanced treatment and admitted to the Government Children's Hospital in Egmore, where he was admitted to intensive care. However, the boy succumbed to the snakebite on Monday night.

Following his death, the Kundrathur police sent his body to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for post-mortem examination. A case has been registered and further investigation is on.