Man crushed to death by 23ft python and swallowed whole while walking home from party

A man who was walking home from a party in the early hours of the morning was killed when he crossed paths with a 23ft long python that crushed him and then swallowed him whole.

Hasim Lumbessy, 35, had been partying at a bar in North Maluku, Indonesia, when he headed home alone towards the village of Waksakai through a forest, he would never emerge from it alive.

At around 3am local time on 27 July, Hasim was drunk and making his way home through the forest when he was attacked by a large python which struck Hasim from the undergrowth and bit into his leg.

The inebriated man was then crushed to death by the snake as it coiled around him and squeezed the life out of the unfortunate man.

Hasim's relatives searched along his route home when they got up and realised that he hadn't made it home from his party, according to Sula Islands Police Chief Handres.

35-year-old Hasim Lumbessy was heading home after a party when the snake attacked him (ViralPress)

They said: "In the middle of the journey, they saw blood on the ground and then found the victim’s belongings, including a backpack, sling bag and sandals.

"The witnesses became concerned and documented the items. They decided to return to the village to inform the other locals. They then conducted a wider search."

It was then that those searching for the missing man found a very large snake with a bulging belly that had evidently swallowed something human-sized.

When they cut the animal open they found Hasim's body inside, which has since been taken home to prepare him for his funeral, and police have warned locals of the dangers that lurk around them.

The police chief said: "This area remains a wildlife habitat.

"Therefore, we urge the public to be careful when going to their gardens; if possible, they should go to the forest in pairs rather than alone, to minimise the risk of similar incidents."

His family went to find him after realising he hadn't made it home, and found a large snake with his body in its belly (Viral Press)

The man's death follows a snake attack last month where a similar-sized python struck at a biker who'd stopped for a rest in the same area, while elsewhere in North Maluku a 44-year-old woman was killed by a python while working on her farm.

Reticulated pythons are the longest snakes in the world, and while their bite is not venomous they are dangerous constrictors which wrap themselves around their prey and crush the unfortunate being to death.

As well as being the longest snake in the world they're also the third heaviest, which makes them a tough prospect to deal with should someone be attacked by one of them with several documented cases of people being swallowed whole by the snake that killed them.

If being crushed to death didn't kill you then being swallowed by the snake certainly would.

One man who tried it to see what would happen wore a protective suit before letting a green anaconda try to eat him, but he had to call in a team to help while it was in the middle of eating his head as he could feel the pressure being exerted on his body even through the protective suit.