Terrified tourists screamed when a huge cobra emerged on a river raft.

Footage shows the scared holidaymaker passing along in the water while the men tried to catch the serpent from the wooden vessel by the banks in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, on April 28.

One of them used a stick to drive the deadly reptile away, but it stayed on the spot instead.

The brave local eventually grabbed the animal by its neck, removed its body from gaps in the raft, and carried it to higher ground.

Onlooker Kittisak Tontan said: ‘They were just enjoying their grilled fish when the snake appeared on the raft.'

Researchers found that 7,000 people are treated for snake bites each year in Thailand. Suchai Suteparuk from the Division of Toxicology at Chulalongkorn University reported that 30 of those die, with cobras being the biggest killer.