Missing for 3 days, Indonesian woman found inside 16-foot python

AN Indonesian woman, who was reportedly missing, has been found dead inside the belly of a snake after it swallowed her whole in central Indonesia, a local official told the news agency AFP on Saturday.

45-year-old Farida was found inside the reticulated python by her husband and residents of Kalempang village in South Sulawesi province on Friday.

The python measured around 5 meters (16 feet).

She went missing on Thursday night and didn't return home. Following that, a search operation was launched, village chief Suardi Rosi told AFP.

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 did, Farida's head was immediately visible," he added.

She was found fully clothed inside the python's belly.

Instances like these are rare, yet in Indonesia, there have been several fatalities in recent years after pythons swallowed whole individuals.

Last year, residents of Tinanggea district in Southeast Sulawesi encountered an eight-metre python, which they killed as it was strangling and devouring a farmer in the village.

In 2018, a 54-year-old woman was discovered dead within a seven-metre python in Muna town, also located in Southeast Sulawesi.

In the preceding year, a farmer from West Sulawesi vanished, only to be later found consumed alive by a four-metre python on a palm oil plantation.