An air conditioning technician was trapped in the attic of a bank for around 15 minutes after coming face-to-face with what is believed to have been a 6-foot rattlesnake.
The technician, who has only identified himself as Jesse from Kleen Air in Houston, Texas, told local outlet KHOU11 that he was changing the filters of a unit at a Comerica Bank location in the city on Wednesday when he noticed the 6-foot snake.
Jesse told the local station that he was cornered in the attic for some time, explaining that he was "fixing to jump through the ceiling...He had me pinned up there about 10, 15 minutes."
The technician added: "He slithered down into the corner, curled up and then poked his head, stared at me, never took his eyes off of me. He was rattling his tail, and I was like, 'Nope this isn't happening. Not today.'"
Jesse said that he managed to take a picture of the snake while he was trapped in the attic and called the bank, who phoned the police to help him escape by bringing a ladder round to the side of the building.
The technician left his tools behind in the attic as he escaped from the room on the ladder, but despite a pest control team responding to the site, the snake has not yet been located.
The website for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department states that there are 10 active species of rattlesnakes currently located in the state, with the Western diamondback breed "the most common and widespread venomous snake" in Texas.
Although bites from rattlesnakes can be deadly, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's (CDFW) website explains that the chances of being bitten "are small compared to the risk of other environmental injuries."
Wednesday's incident is the second in a week where a snake has been discovered close to an air conditioning unit, as a "massive" venomous red-bellied black snake was spotted hiding beneath a unit at a home in eastern Australia earlier in the week.
Red-bellied black snakes are a venomous species found in the eastern portion of Australia that on average grow to around 4-feet in length.
Snakes are also commonly found in other unusual locations, and in June a snake catcher removed an enormous carpet python that had wrapped itself around the inside of a woman's car engine while the vehicle was parked off a popular hiking trail in Mount Cooroora in Queensland, Australia.
Newsweek has contacted Kleen Air for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
");jQuery(this).remove()}) jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')} if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrK6enZtjsLC5jquYraycmsCvrcqeZKmhnqh6orXRZpqoppSewaq7zaKloGWkmrCpusicoJqmXZbBtbXCZp%2BoraOpvK95wZqlpGWkmsWiv4xqbWttZ26F