A group of friends on holiday in the Philippines received a terrifying shock when they discovered a king cobra hiding in their hotel toilet. After flushing, the snake's head emerged, and the incident, captured on video, went viral. Local authorities are now investigating the event.

A group of friends holidaying at a resort in the Philippines were in for a terrifying shock after they found a king cobra hiding inside the hotel toilet. According to The Sun, the event happened at a resort in Salvador Benedicto, which is part of the Philippines' Northern Negros Natural Park. One of the five friends who were staying at the resort went into the bathroom and saw something strange in the toilet bowl. When the visitor noticed a black substance in the water, they initially thought the toilet had not been properly flushed. But after flushing once again, the group was appalled as a snake's head sprang out of the plumbing underneath the toilet.

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One of the visitors was seen carefully raising the toilet lid and then gently poking the reptile with a long stick in a video of the incident that has gone viral. Shortly after, the snake slithered out and seemed to flick its tongue while staring directly at the person filming.

As he hurried to check the loo for himself, one of the visitors, Dranreb Teodoso, told The Sun that the group first found it difficult to accept their friend's assertion. Before alerting the hotel personnel, he used a stick to see if the snake was still alive.

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At first, the group thought the creature was a harmless water snake. However, reptile aficionados were alerted that it seemed to be a King Cobra, one of the deadliest venomous snakes in the world, after video of the encounter was posted online.

The Sun was informed by local officials that reports of King Cobra sightings had previously been made in Salvador Benedicto. Investigators were looking into the possibility that the snake could have escaped from unlawful confinement, according to Superintendent Gina Gerangaya.

In light of the region's extreme heat, officials speculated that the reptile could have been looking for a cooler hiding spot. Authorities have since launched an investigation into the incident.