Python swallows woman at Indonesia rubber plantation

Engorged snake cut open to reveal body of worker who had gone missing at the end of her shift

The snake was five metres long, on the larger side for a Burmese python, found in the wild in Indonesia. EPA

A woman in her 50s has been swallowed by a python in the Indonesian province of Jambi.

The rubber plantation worker, named only as Jahrah, could not be found at the end of her shift, local media reported.

A search party later discovered an engorged python and cut the animal open, finding Jahrah’s body.

“The victim was found in the snake's stomach. After they cut the belly apart, they found it was Jahrah inside,” AKP S Harefa, the local police chief, told CNN Indonesia.

The snake was five metres long, on the larger side for a Burmese python, found in the wild in Indonesia. Pythons kept as pets are typically no longer than two metres.

Rubber production is one of Indonesia's largest industries, employing over 1.3 million people. Plantations have been linked to deforestation on land claimed by indigenous tribes.

In pictures: Pythons around the world

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  Faisal Malikah with a reticulated python at his house in the Saudi Red Sea resort of Jeddah. His love for non-venomous snakes has evolved from having one when he was 5 to ultimately crossbreeding dozens to produce 'live art' in unique colours and patterns. AFP

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  A ball python hatching at an event in collaboration with the Specialty Pet Lovers Association, in Bangkok, Thailand. EPA

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  Biologists Ian Easterling, left, and Ian Bartoszek with a 14-foot female Burmese python captured in the mangrove habitat of south-western Florida. AP Photo

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  Britain's Sir David Attenborough shares a laugh with zookeepers during a photo opportunity at Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images

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  A Thai owner shows his ball python during the opening of an event in collaboration with the Specialty Pet Lovers Association, in Bangkok, Thailand. EPA

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  A snake charmer handles a python at the Galle Fort in Sri Lanka. AFP

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  Izzy the royal python is measured during the annual animal health check at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Surrey, England. PA Photo

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  A reticulated python at the home of collector Jose Delgadillo in the city of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. EPA