Missing man found swallowed whole inside snake in Indonesia

Villagers concerned for the welfare of a missing man in Indonesia made a gruesome discovery - when they found him swallowed whole by a snake.

The body of 25-year-old Akbar was recovered intact and fully-clothed after searchers hunted down the python and sliced it open on Wednesday.

Alarm was raised on the island of Sulawesi, east of Borneo, on Monday evening after the young man failed to return home from work the previous day, according to the Tribun Timur reported.

Two days later a search party came across the palm oil crop worker's picking tool and boot, raising their fears.

Before long they spotted an engorged seven-metre long python hiding behind bushes.

Video footage posted by the Tribun Timur showed the man's body emerge from inside the body of the snake as the animal was cut open.

As the skin of the python was removed, it appeared to show Akbar wearing a boot and a pair of shorts.

Reticulated pythons, the world's longest snakes, grab onto their prey with dozens of sharp curved teeth and then squeeze it to death before swallowing the remains whole.

While they are widespread in Indonesia and other parts of southeast Asia, reports of humans being killed by pythons are extremely rare - the snakes preferring to feast on monkeys, pigs and other mammals.

Akbar's absence wasn't initially noticed until Monday because his wife had been visiting her parents in another province.