Indonesia: Woman Killed By Python While She Went To Buying Medicine For Sick Child

In central Indonesia, a woman was discovered dead inside the stomach of a python, marking the second such fatality in the region within a month. Siriati, 36, had gone missing on Tuesday morning after leaving her home in Siteba village, South Sulawesi province, to buy medicine for her sick child. Her sudden disappearance prompted her family to initiate a search.

Her husband, Adiansa, 30, stumbled upon her slippers and pants approximately 500 meters from their house. Soon after, he noticed a large snake about 10 meters from the path. The python, still alive, had an unusually swollen belly, arousing Adiansa’s suspicions.

“He called for the villagers to help cut open the snake’s stomach, where they found her body,” said village secretary Iyang. The local police chief, Idul, who, like many Indonesians, goes by a single name, confirmed the details of the discovery to AFP.

Although such events are rare, this tragedy is not isolated. Just last month, another woman in South Sulawesi was found inside the belly of a reticulated python. In a separate incident last year, villagers killed an eight-meter-long python that had strangled and consumed a farmer. Other similar occurrences include the 2018 death of a 54-year-old woman inside a seven-meter python in Southeast Sulawesi and a 2017 case where a farmer was found inside a four-meter python at a palm oil plantation in West Sulawesi.

These incidents highlight the perilous encounters between humans and pythons in Indonesia, emphasizing the need for increased awareness and caution in regions where these giant snakes are known to inhabit.