Python swallows woman, child missing after suspected croc attack

MAKASSAR, Indonesia (AFP) — A woman was found dead inside the belly of a snake after it swallowed her whole in central Indonesia, while a missing 12-year-old may have been “attacked by a crocodile” in remote northern Australia.

Siriati, 36, had gone missing after she left her house Tuesday morning to buy medicine for her sick child, police said Wednesday, prompting relatives to launch a search.

Her husband Adiansa, 30, found her slippers and pants on the ground about 500 meters from their house in Siteba village, South Sulawesi province.

“Shortly after that, he spotted a snake, about 10 meters from the path. The snake was still alive,” local police chief Idul, who like many Indonesians has one name, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Village secretary Iyang told AFP that Adiansa became suspicious after he noticed the python’s “very large” belly. He called the villagers to help cut open its stomach, where they found her body.

Meanwhile, Sydney police said Wednesday as search teams combed a creek for signs of the missing child.

The child disappeared on Tuesday evening after swimming at Mango Creek near Palumpa, a small, largely Indigenous settlement about seven hours’ drive southwest of territory capital Darwin.

“Initial reports stated the child had been attacked by a crocodile,” Northern Territory Police said in a statement, adding that officers were now “searching a large section of the creek via boat.”