A 64-year-old Thai woman survived a harrowing four-hour ordeal after being attacked by a 13-foot reticulated python at her home in central Thailand’s Suphanburi province.
Arrom Arunroj was washing dishes in her outdoor kitchen when the massive snake began coiling around her body. Initially mistaking it for a monitor lizard, Arunroj quickly realized she was in the grip of one of Southeast Asia’s largest snake species.
“I didn’t notice the snake until it bit me. I looked down and it was coiling around my leg,” Arunroj told local media. “I was scared that the python would kill me, so I screamed at the top of my lungs until a passer-by heard me.”
The widow struggled for over two hours before her cries were heard by a neighbor, who alerted authorities. By the time help arrived, Arunroj had been battling the python for four hours.
Bodycam footage from responding officers showed Arunroj sitting helplessly on the ground as the python constricted her body. It took rescue workers more than 30 minutes to pry the snake off the victim.
Anusorn Wongmalee, commander of the local Crime Prevention and Suppression Unit, described the scene: “The elderly woman was being squeezed by a huge python that must have weighed more than 45 pounds. We used whatever tools we could to try to pry her free from it.”
Arunroj was rushed to a hospital for treatment of severe leg wounds and numbness in her arms from the prolonged constriction. Despite the traumatic experience, she is expected to recover.
The reticulated python, native to Southeast Asia, is one of the world’s longest snake species. While attacks on humans are rare, they are known to occasionally target larger prey. These non-venomous constrictors typically kill by wrapping around their victims and squeezing until cardiac arrest occurs.
After the rescue, authorities released the python back into a nearby forest. Wildlife experts emphasize the importance of coexistence with these creatures while taking precautions to avoid encounters.
This incident follows other recent python attacks in Southeast Asia, including a fatal encounter in Indonesia last month where a 57-year-old woman was killed by a 16-foot python at a rubber plantation.
