03.08.2026 16:27
Horrific incident in Indonesia: A man returning home from a night party was swallowed by a giant python. Villagers found his lifeless body in the snake's stomach. A warning was issued to be careful to avoid encountering snakes.
A horrifying incident occurred in Indonesia: a man walking home from a party was swallowed alive by a giant python. Terrified villagers found the unfortunate man's lifeless body in the snake's stomach.
Hasim Lumbessy, 35, who spent the night with friends at a village bar in the North Maluku region, set off home alone in the early hours of Monday, July 27. As he walked along a forested path at around 3:00 a.m., a 7-meter giant python lunged from the bushes and sank its teeth into the man's leg.
Unable to escape the snake that wrapped its body around the unfortunate man, Hasim died from suffocation. According to Sula Islands Police Chief Handres, after Hasim failed to return home, his relatives launched a search along the route he used on Monday afternoon.
Police Chief Handres described the incident as follows:
"During the search, relatives who saw blood trails on the road found the victim's backpack, shoulder bag, and sandals. Suspicious witnesses took photos of the items, returned to the village, and notified other villagers. A more extensive search was then launched."
The search team followed crushed grass tracks near Fatliwangka Road into the depths of the forest, where they encountered a giant snake with an abnormally swollen belly.
The footage shows the moment villagers slit open the beast's belly and reached Hasim's lifeless body. After removing the body from the snake's stomach, the villagers handed the corpse to the family for burial procedures.
The Sula Islands police issued a warning to citizens working in their fields or walking alone in the forest. Police Chief Handres said, "This area is the natural habitat of wildlife. Therefore, we call on our people to be careful when going to their fields and to go to the forest not alone, but preferably in pairs, to minimize similar risks."
Consecutive Horrors in the Same Region
This incident follows a similar horror that occurred in the same province just a month ago. It was reported that Lifas, a 25-year-old motorcyclist standing by a dirt road in North Maluku, was also attacked by a 6.5-meter python.
In another incident, 44-year-old Elisabet Yamalau was killed by a 7.5-meter python while tending to her cattle. It was her husband who found the unfortunate woman with her head in the snake's mouth.
Reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus), commonly found across Southeast Asia, include cats, dogs, birds, humans, and even other snakes in their food chain. As the world's largest snake species, they possess immense strength capable of killing humans by constriction. Indonesia's tropical climate and abundant food sources in the forests create conditions for the uncontrolled growth of these snakes' population.
"They Lie in Ambush in the Bushes for Their Prey"
Ron Lilley, a Bali-based founding member of the Indonesian Herpetological Society and known as the "Snake Whisperer," made the following statement on the matter:
"Pythons are ambush predators. They wait among the bushes at the edges of trails used by animals and humans. They suddenly attack, coil around a person, and squeeze until they cannot breathe. They don't even need to break bones."
Lilley offers the following advice for surviving a python encounter:
"Quickly raising your arm to prevent the snake from coiling around your neck and face could potentially save your life."
Describing a similar attack he suffered while at a reptile center in England, Lilley recounted his experience:
"I was alone at the time. The snake bit me on the shoulder, but before it had a chance to coil around me, I managed to hit its nose with a cleaning brush. Luckily, it released me immediately, and I was able to flee to the other end of the cage. Its teeth pierced through four layers of clothing, leaving deep wounds."