Apartments evacuated as authorities search for escaped cobra

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Authorities in a German city said they evacuated about 30 residents from an apartment block after a venomous cobra escaped from a home and was spotted slithering in a hallway.

Officials in Herne said the 4.6-foot cobra is believed to have escaped from a resident's apartment Sunday and has since been spotted slithering in a hallway in the apartment block, which is composed of four buildings connected by a cellar.

About 30 residents were evacuated from the apartment block and firefighters were searching the building for the missing snake Thursday morning.

Officials said the cobra is believed to be somewhere in the cellar of the building, but people walking nearby are being warned to avoid the high grass as a precaution.

A local hospital is keeping the antivenom for the cobra's bite on hand in case of an attack, officials said.

The cobra escaped from the home of a man who was found to be keeping about 20 other snakes in his apartment. The reptiles were seized from his residence.