Australian hockey captain killed by snake bite on pitch

A talented Australian hockey captain has died after being bitten by a poisonous snake on the pitch.

Karl Berry, 26, was bitten when he picked up the snake to move it away from a group of kids at the Commerce-Pints Hockey Club in Darwin.

According to the The Australian, St John Amblance operations manager Craig Garraway told NT News that Mr Barry had thought it was a python.

But, in fact, it was a poisonous brown snake.

Mr Berry did not even realise he had been bitten until he collapsed halfway through a mile-long training run, reports the Daily Mail.

He was able to tell paramedics that he had picked up a snake at the scene, but he was rushed to the Royal Darwin Hospital in a critical condition, where he died a few hours later.

The Western Brown is a highly venomous snake, which is made even more dangerous as its bite does not inflict pain, leaving the victim often unaware they have been bitten until it's too late.

It can grow up to 1.5m long, and is found across most of Australia, including all of the Northern Territory, as well as most of Queensland, Western Australia, and some of Victoria.

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