Body of missing Indonesian man found inside giant python

A seven-metre python had to be cut open by local citizens to retrieve a missing man's body.

An Indonesian man, who had not been seen since the weekend, was found inside a 23ft (7m)-long python. Villagers on the island of West Sulawesi had the horrific task of cutting open the giant snake's stomach to retrieve the body.

Akbar was last seen on Sunday (26 March) before he left to harvest palm oil in the remote village. When his friends and neighbours realised he did not return home by the end of the day, they began searching for him.

They eventually reported the matter to the local police, according to Mashura, a spokesperson for the police in West Sulawesi province.

A day later, when the police conducted a search they found a python had sprawled out in Akbar's garden, the BBC noted. Police said they feared the snake had swallowed the 25-year-old whole.

"They didn't find him [Akbar], but the villagers saw an unmoving python in the ditch. They grew suspicious that maybe the snake had Akbar. When they cut it open, Akbar was inside the snake," Mashura told the broadcaster's Indonesian service.

Local media reports suggested that Akbar's boots were clearly visible in the python's stomach.

Reticulated pythons, a species of python found in Southeast Asia, usually suffocate their victims before swallowing them whole, the BBC noted. They are the world's longest reptiles and among the three heaviest snakes.

However, it is rare for pythons to kill or eat human beings, although there have been some reports of the reptiles swallowing animals or young children. The species are generally known to avoid human settlements but they are believed to eye palm oil plantations to hunt for prey as they attract animals like dogs, boars or primates.

According to local media reports, Akbar is survived by his wife and two children.