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Snake bites ex-Gaddafi bodyguard during toilet break | Snake bites ex-Gaddafi bodyguard during toilet break |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A former Gaddafi family bodyguard who became a bartender in the Australian outback has been bitten by a snake while urinating in a bush. | A former Gaddafi family bodyguard who became a bartender in the Australian outback has been bitten by a snake while urinating in a bush. |
Australian man Gary Peters was bodyguard to Saadi Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but now works in a Queensland pub. | Australian man Gary Peters was bodyguard to Saadi Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but now works in a Queensland pub. |
The 52-year-old was drinking with friends after a shift on Wednesday when he stepped outside to relieve himself. | The 52-year-old was drinking with friends after a shift on Wednesday when he stepped outside to relieve himself. |
Mr Peters had just finished urinating when the mulga snake struck his ankle. | Mr Peters had just finished urinating when the mulga snake struck his ankle. |
He said that he saw venom dripping down his leg and feared he would die from the bite. | He said that he saw venom dripping down his leg and feared he would die from the bite. |
"I only got a small dosage [of venom], enough to make me crook. If I had more I would have been in a body bag, I would have been dead," Mr Peters said. | "I only got a small dosage [of venom], enough to make me crook. If I had more I would have been in a body bag, I would have been dead," Mr Peters said. |
The venom of the mulga snake is not as toxic as in some other Australian snake species, but is produced in very large quantities. | The venom of the mulga snake is not as toxic as in some other Australian snake species, but is produced in very large quantities. |
Workmate Peta Warden said she "thought nothing of it" when Mr Peters returned to the bar asking for a shoelace to use as a tourniquet. | |
"I was just having a nice quiet drink and Gary decided to go [outside] even though the newly renovated toilets are only about 2m away," Ms Warden told the BBC. | "I was just having a nice quiet drink and Gary decided to go [outside] even though the newly renovated toilets are only about 2m away," Ms Warden told the BBC. |
She and a friend held Mr Peters down on the back of a utility truck tray until they reached the closest helipad. An air ambulance then flew him 300km (186 miles) to Mt Isa Hospital. | She and a friend held Mr Peters down on the back of a utility truck tray until they reached the closest helipad. An air ambulance then flew him 300km (186 miles) to Mt Isa Hospital. |
Mr Peters met Saadi Gaddafi at Sydney's Olympic Games in 2000, where he was assigned to protect visiting dignitaries as a member of the Australian army. | Mr Peters met Saadi Gaddafi at Sydney's Olympic Games in 2000, where he was assigned to protect visiting dignitaries as a member of the Australian army. |
He worked as Gaddafi's bodyguard during the Libyan uprising in 2011. As Tripoli fell to rebel forces, Mr Peters helped Gaddafi escape to Niger, in defiance of a United Nations travel ban on the dictator's son. | He worked as Gaddafi's bodyguard during the Libyan uprising in 2011. As Tripoli fell to rebel forces, Mr Peters helped Gaddafi escape to Niger, in defiance of a United Nations travel ban on the dictator's son. |
In 2013 he was deported from Canada, where he ran a private security company, after being found complicit in war crimes. A judge ruled he was a "member of the [Libyan] government apparatus". | In 2013 he was deported from Canada, where he ran a private security company, after being found complicit in war crimes. A judge ruled he was a "member of the [Libyan] government apparatus". |
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