麻豆社

South African pilot Rudolph Erasmus told passengers "we have a bit of a situation on board" when he discovered, mid-flight, there was a deadly snake coiled under his seat. He had to make an emergency landing, cutting short the flight from Cape Town to the northern South African town of Nelspruit. He is being hailed as a hero for his calm response and for getting the passengers to safety. The snake, a Cape cobra, can kill a person in 30 minutes with its venomous bite. Rudolph Erasmus told Focus on Africa's Audrey Brown that initially, he thought the hissing sound was his water bottle leaking.

(Photo: A Cape Cobra snake, one of the most poisonous of all African Cobra species. Credit: Getty Images.)