Snakes invade Commonwealth Games village

The Commonwealth Games athletes' village is infested with snakes, wildlife experts said today.

The claim came after the sixth snake in a week was found at the site where 7,000 competitors are staying.

A non-venomous wolf snake was caught just outside the village. Officials of the Games wildlife rescue team caught the snake, which had strayed from the banks of the Yamuna river, where the village is situated.

But a second long black snake seen nearby escaped capture. Kartik Satyanarayan, head of Wildlife SOS, said: "That could only be a cobra or a krait, both of which are highly poisonous. But as the day progressed, it went further deep into the vegetation.

"The village and surrounding areas should have been sanitised before people started moving in, because thanks to the vegetation here and the near-flooding in September, the place is infested with snakes."