Charlotte high schooler rescued from national park after sustaining rattlesnake bite

AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — A Charlotte 17-year-old was rescued from Pisgah National Forest after he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake on June 2.

The Chapel Hill High student, who identified himself to the Charlotte Observer as Zain Shah, said he was bitten by a large rattlesnake, two miles from the nearest road.

“What started as a fun end-of-high-school fishing trip for my son and his buddy in the (western) NC mountains turned deadly when he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake deep in the woods,” the teen’s father, Imran Shah, wrote on the N.C. Emergency Management Facebook page.

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The North Carolina Helo-Aquatic Rescue Team, or NCHART, responded to Avery County alongside the North Carolina National Guard and the Charlotte Fire Department.

The State Emergency Operations Center dispatched a Blackhawk from the NC National Guard.

Zain Shah said his friend was able to call 911, getting him the help he needed. And Zain Shah remembered to take a picture of the snake, to help doctors know which antivenom to use.

When he arrived at the hospital, he was administered 12 vials of antivenom over the course of two nights and three days, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Zain Shah said his graduation on Saturday wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for the rescue teams.

“All of them saved my life. I wouldn’t be here without the help of so many people,” Zain Shah says. “I have ventured alone into the mountains before, but I’ll never do that again. The buddy system only from now on, but this will not keep me from going back out there.”

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