Python swallows woman whole in South Sulawesi

A woman has been found dead inside the belly of a snake after it swallowed her whole in central Indonesia, a local official said on Saturday.

The husband of 45-year-old Farida and residents of Kalempang village in South Sulawesi province discovered her on Friday inside the reticulated python, which measured around 5m (16 feet).

The mother of four had gone missing on Thursday night and failed to return home, forcing a search effort, village head Suardi Rosi said.

Her husband “found her belongings ... which made him suspicious. The villagers then searched the area. They soon spotted a python with a large belly,” said Suardi.

“They agreed to cut open the python’s stomach.

“As soon as they opened up the stomach, they immediately saw Farida’s head.”

Farida was found fully clothed inside the snake.

Such incidents are considered extremely rare but several people have died in Indonesia in recent years after being swallowed whole by pythons.

Last year, several residents in Southeast Sulawesi’s Tinanggea district killed an 8m python, which was found strangling and eating one of the farmers in a village.

In 2018, a 54-year-old woman was found dead inside a 7m python in Southeast Sulawesi’s Muna town.

And the year before, a farmer in West Sulawesi went missing before being found eaten alive by a 4m python at a palm oil plantation. — AFP