A 54-year-old Indonesian woman has been found in the belly of a giant python after the swollen snake was captured near where she vanished while tending her vegetable garden, Indonesian police said Saturday.
The body of Wa Tiba was found Friday when villagers cut open the seven-meter python which was found bloated in the village of Persiapan Lawela on the island of Muna, offshore of Sulawesi.
"Residents were suspicious the snake swallowed the victim, so they killed it, then carried it out of the garden," said local police chief Hamka, who like many Indonesians has only one name.
"The snake's belly was cut open and the body of the victim was found inside," AFP quoted him as saying.
Some 100 residents, including worried relatives, launched a search for the woman after she failed to return from her garden Thursday night.
Hamka said villagers found the giant serpent lying about 30 meters from Tiba's sandals and machete, adding she was swallowed head first and her body was found intact.
The garden in which she disappeared was at the base of a rocky cliff, pockmarked by caves, and known to be home to snakes, Hamka added.
In March last year, a farmer was killed by a python in the village of Salubiro on Sulawesi island, AFP said.
