TAWAU: A spitting cobra sparked a safety alert at Tawau Airport on Wednesday (Oct 14) after it was spotted near the entrance of an office.
The unexpected discovery came as Civil Defence Force personnel were attending to a separate report of a hornet's nest at the airport.
"The incident happened unexpectedly, but our personnel documented the sequence of events," Civil Defence Force Tawau said when contacted.
Earlier, at about 12.30pm, a Civil Defence Force officer and a personnel member were responding to a report of a hornet's nest within the airport grounds.
Accompanied by an airport security officer, they inspected the area to assess the situation and locate the nest.
While returning to the airport's fire station, they were alerted to a snake spotted inside an office.
The Civil Defence Force personnel immediately proceeded to the location and identified the reptile as a small spitting cobra near the office entrance.
Airport staff were advised not to approach or handle the snake directly due to the risk of injury.
They were also reminded to use appropriate equipment and take necessary precautions when removing the reptile.
The snake was subsequently moved by airport personnel to a safer location away from the public.
The incident occurred while Civil Defence Force Tawau was participating in a partial emergency exercise, known as Ex Payau 2026, at the airport.
