A horrified husband found his wife dead, half-eaten by a massive 5-metre python, before angry locals hunted down the snake and killed it.
Hapsah, 57, was at a rubber tree plantation in Muaro Jambi Regency, Indonesia, when the snake lying in tall grass attacked her on August 27.
The 16-foot snake easily overpowered the struggling petite woman and coiled around her body. It slowly took the breath from her lungs until she passed out.
Hapsah’s husband, M. Safri, 66, who worked on the same plantation, went out to look for his wife when she did not return home that afternoon.
He heard crunching noises in the undergrowth and was horrified to find the reptile coiled around his beloved as it prepared to swallow her whole.
A mob of vengeful residents later arrived at the spot to hunt down the python and killed it.
Grandma found half-eaten by 5-metre python while working on farm in Indonesia
Sungai Gelam police chief Iptu Usaha Sitepu said: ‘When he approached the source of the sound, he saw that the victim had been strangled to death by a python and was about to be swallowed headfirst.
‘He knew she was already dead, so he could only pull the snake’s tail and beat it until it loosened its grip.’
Safri said he ran back to the village to ask for help in transporting Hapsah’s body.
A mob of vengeful residents arrived at the site to hunt down the python. They found it hiding near the roots of a tree and beat it mercilessly to death.
Village head Amdi said: “Hapsah was almost swallowed by the snake, and only half of her body was left to swallow when her husband managed to free her. After the snake escaped, residents immediately searched for it and killed it. It was huge. They took it back to the village to show it to the community after killing it.”
A distraught Safri brought Hapsah’s body home to prepare for her funeral.
He said: “I returned home from the plantation earlier, but if I had known my wife would be attacked like this, I would have stayed to protect her.”
The 16-foot snake easily overpowered the struggling petite woman and wrapped itself around her body.
On August 14, another grandmother was killed and eaten by a python.
Maga, 74, had taken her cows to graze in a forested area in the Sumarambu Mountains, about a mile from her home in Palopo town in South Sulawesi province, when a python lunged at her.
Her son, Sanaria, 39, ventured into the forest to look for her when she did not return home, only to find her half-swallowed by the reptile.
The villagers later killed the python and took its mangled carcass home as a trophy.
The reticulated python is found throughout Southeast Asia, where it lives in forests, swamps, canals and even in cities, causing conflicts with humans. The species is one of the largest snakes in the world and can eat humans, cats, dogs, birds, rats and other snakes.