LN’s body was discovered by residents at 2:30 p.m. Central Indonesia Time (WITA) in Majapahit Village, Batauga Subdistrict, Head of the emergency and logistics division of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of South Buton Laode Risawal said in Kendari.
He informed that the victim was reported missing since Friday morning after he failed to return home from his plantation.
“The victim, a farmer, was found by residents who discovered LN had been swallowed by a snake,” he stated.
Residents became suspicious upon encountering an unusually large python in the plantation.
Believing it had swallowed something and was struggling, they killed it. “When the snake’s stomach was cut open, it was indeed the victim who had been swallowed. Residents had initially been suspicious due to the snake’s appearance,” Risawal informed.
Following the grim discovery, BPBD, along with local residents, took LN’s body to his house.
Risawal said that this was the first incident of a resident being swallowed by a python in the area.
However, he added that snakes had frequently appeared in the village in recent months, especially during the rainy season, to prey on livestock.
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Meanwhile, Sertu Dirman, Village Supervisory Non-Commissioned Officer (Babinsa) for Majapahit Village, Batauga Subdistrict, said that LN was reported missing after his neighbors, who had set up an appointment with him, inquired about his whereabouts.
The family then revealed that LN had not returned from the plantation since Friday.
“The family subsequently went to check the plantation and found the victim’s motorbike still parked on the side of the road,” Dirman said.
He added that his team, along with residents, searched the plantation area, including the hut, but LN could not be found. The residents then discovered the python, lying a few hundred meters from the victim’s hut, he continued.
“At that point, residents grew suspicious because the snake appeared to have swallowed a person. They then killed the snake, and it turned out the victim was inside its stomach,” Dirman said.
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Translator: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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