A 16-YEAR-OLD girl became the year’s first fatal victim of a snake  bite on Sunday July 22.

The incident happened  on a cattle ranch in the Pedasi district of Los Santos province.

The minor, a native of Bocas del Toro, was bitten on the arms and right leg

Officials of the  Ministry of Health (Minsa) in Santos said she died although emergency rooms of the region's hospitals have serum to deal with snake bites she arrived too late

Last year a 69-year-old man, died in the Bajos de Güera, Macaraca district after being bitten.