Missing woman found dead inside belly of python in central Indonesia

A woman was found dead inside the belly of a snake after it swallowed her whole in central Indonesia, police said Wednesday, the second python killing in the province in a month.

Siriati, 36, had gone missing after she left her house Tuesday morning to buy medicine for her sick child, police said, prompting relatives to launch a search.

Her husband Adiansa, 30, found her slippers and pants on the ground about 500 meters (yards) from their house in Siteba village, South Sulawesi province.

“Shortly after that, he spotted a snake, about 10 meters from the path. The snake was still alive,” local police chief Idul, who like many Indonesians has one name, told AFP.

Village secretary Iyang told AFP that Adiansa became suspicious after he noticed the python’s “very large” belly. He called the villagers to help cut open its stomach, where they found her body.

Such incidents are considered extremely rare, but several people have been swallowed by pythons in recent years.