BOSTWICK, FL (WFLA/NBC News) – Rescue crews say a Putnam County man is in critical condition after he was bitten in the face by a rattlesnake.

Rescue crews were called to Bostwick Tuesday afternoon after the man was bitten in the tongue by an eastern diamondback.

The victim’s friend said it happened when the man was holding the snake and went to kiss it. The friend said the man was drinking a little bit at the time.

The man, who appeared to be in his 20s, was airlifted to a hospital nearby.

The eastern diamondback is the largest venomous snake in North America.