A woman in Jambi, Indonesia, was swallowed whole by a python, police said, in the latest grim incident involving a giant reptile.
Jahrah, a 54-year-old tapper at a rubber plantation in Betara District, was reported missing by her husband after she went to work on Sunday.
A search party consisting of local police and villagers initially only found Jahrah’s sandals, jacket, and a knife on the forest floor.
“During the search the team found a giant python, measuring 7 meters in length, which we suspected had preyed on the victim. The team captured the snake,” Betara Police Chief Harefa said.
The party then sliced open the python’s bloated belly — killing the reptile — and found Jahra’s lifeless body.
“The victim’s body was not destroyed when we found her inside the snake, meaning that she had only been recently swallowed whole.”
Giant pythons, which regularly top six meters, are commonly found in Indonesia and the Philippines.
While pythons rarely attack people due as the non-venomous snakes prefer to prey on small animals, there have been several tragic incidents in recent years, particularly at plantations or in settlements located near jungles and caves.
In 2018, a woman in Southeast Sulawesi was also swallowed whole by a 7-meter-long python while she was tending her vegetable garden.
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