The death of a six-year-old girl at the weekend after she was bitten by a brown snake has devastated the close-knit country town of Walgett.

The girl was bitten on a property just outside Walgett about 3pm on Friday, February 3.

Rushed to Walgett hospital, doctors administered antivenom for the eastern brown snake.  The girl was then flown in a critical condition to the Children’s Hospital in Randwick and placed on life-support.  Her week-long battle for life ended on the weekend with her sad death.

A police spokesman said, “After the girl’s condition significantly deteriorated, she was transferred back to Walgett Hospital where she passed away on Saturday.”

A “critical incident” team of counsellors has been dispatched to Walgett, in the state’s northwest, to help the girl’s grief-stricken classmates deal with the tragedy.

NSW Ambulance and NSW Police have issued a reminder to people to be wary of snakes in warmer months.

■If you are bitten by a snake, ensure someone calls Triple-0 immediately;

■Until help arrives, if the bite is on a limb, apply a pressure immobilisation bandage but not so tight it will cut off circulation;

■If the bite is not on a limb, apply direct and firm pressure to the bite site with your hands (it is also important the patient is kept still);

■Check items of clothing that have been left outside before wearing them and if you lift something such as a rock or log, lift the object so it’s facing away from you.

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