A 17-year-old ‘A’ level student at Rushinga High School was Thursday bitten by a black mamba in her classroom.
Melody, daughter to Joseph Chiputura, a Zanu PF councillor in Rushinga, suffered the misfortune while she was coming from sports.
The snake was immediately killed by other students after it attempted to bite another learner.
Melody died on her way to the hospital and was buried on Saturday at Kanyemba village in Rushinga.
Director of Communications and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education of Zimbabwe Taungana Ndoro confirmed the sad incident.
He said this was the first case the government has recorded in many years while passing condolences to the bereaved family.
Rushinga legislator Tendai Nyabani said they were still shocked with the incident and were still perplexed on how the highly venomous serpent found its way into the classroom which had been used by students for two days.
A bite from a black mamba can cause death in as little as 30 minutes with a severe bite due to suffocation resulting from paralysis of the respiratory muscles.
What happened
Melody Chiputura, 17, was in a classroom at Rushinga High School in Mashonaland Central when the extremely venomous snake lunged and bit her on her thigh, The Herald-Zimbabwe reported.
Chiputura screamed out for help.
Headteacher Christopher Murenga told the news outlet: “The learners discovered the snake and everyone panicked, with some jumping out through windows.”
The girl was rushed to hospital but died before a doctor could see her. Her death occurred within half an hour of being bitten.
Black mambas are one of the most venomous snakes in Africa. They possess a potent venom that can kill a person in just 30 minutes. The species is also one of the fastest snakes in the world, and can slither up to 12.5 miles per hour.
— ZimLive, zwnews
