On Saturday, 8th June, an Indonesian woman, who was missing for three days, was found dead inside a python snake. The incident took place in the village Kalempang of South Sulawesi province where 45-year-old Farida’s dead body was discovered inside the reticulated python by her husband and residents of the village. Reports suggest that the python that swallowed the victim was around 5 metres or 16 feet long. Notably, Farida was the fifth person to be swallowed whole by a python in Indonesia since 2017.
Tragedy struck the village of Kalempang, Indonesia, on June 6, 2024. Farida, a 50-year-old woman, vanished while in the nearby forest.
— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) June 8, 2024
A search party formed by local men ventured into the woods in the following days. Their search led them to a massive, 20-foot python.
The… pic.twitter.com/YmGgDmfpeG
Farida was reported missing on the night of 6th June. She went out for some work but did not return home, following which a search operation was launched. Village chief Suardi Rosi said while speaking to the media, “Her husband found her belongings, which made him suspicious. The villagers then searched the area. They soon spotted a python with a large belly.”
He added, “They agreed to cut open the python’s stomach. As soon as they did, Farida’s head was immediately visible.” Farida was fully clothed inside the python’s stomach.
Daily Mail’s report suggests that the python bit her on her leg and coiled around her body leading to her death by suffocation after which he swallowed her head first. In a statement, her husband Noni said, “I am forever sorry that I let my wife go out alone. If I had been with her that day, the snake would not have dared to touch her. I feel sorry for the suffering she went through. I am sorry for our family.”
Though such instances are rare, there have been reports where individuals were swallowed whole by large pythons. In 2023, a farmer was killed by an eight-metre python in the Tinanggea district of Southwest Sulawesi. When the residents of the village saw the snake, it was devouring the dead body of the farmer. The villagers then killed the snake.
A similar incident came to light in 2018 when the dead body of a 54-year-old woman was discovered inside a 7-metre-long python in Muna town in Southeast Sulawesi. In 2019, a farmer from West Sulawesi went missing and was later found eaten by a four-metre python on a palm tree plantation.
Indonesia is known for its large population of giant snakes. Interestingly, unlike the neighbouring countries, urban developments did not affect the population of giant snakes in the country.
