A farmer who went missing on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was found inside the belly of a python on Wednesday. 25-year-old Akbar went missing three days earlier while tending to his family's palm oil fields.

His family grew concerned when he failed to return home, and villagers began to fear the worst when some of his possessions were found abandoned on the farm alongside scattered palm fruit.

"We were immediately suspicious that the snake had swallowed Akbar because around the site we found palm fruit, his harvesting tool and a boot," said town official Junaedi.

Locals then noticed the seven-meter (24 foot) snake on the outskirts of town looked swollen and was slithering awkwardly. They cut open the serpent's belly to reveal that it had swallowed the young man whole.

A rare attack

"It seems he was attacked from behind because we found a wound on his back," Junaedi told the Associated Press.

Although pythons are common in that part of Indonesia, and have been known to attack larger animals, it is rare for them to go after humans. Indeed, villagers told the media they had never heard of such a thing in their area before.

Southeast Asia's reticulated python is one of the largest snakes in the world. It is famous for the speed with which it can wrap itself around prey and suffocate them before consuming its food.

es/jm (AP, AFP)