16-Foot Python Crushes Grandmother to Death, Mob Avenges Her

An Indonesian grandmother has met a tragic end after being crushed to death by a 16-foot python that tried to swallow her whole.

According to reports, the woman, 57-year-old Hapsah, was attacked by the serpent last week while doing routine work on a plantation, where she tapped rubber trees, in Muaro Jambi, a province of Sumatra.

Hapsah reportedly tried to fight off the snake as it wrapped itself around her body ... but the python overpowered her, squeezing her unconscious from lack of oxygen.

The woman's husband, M Safri, who also worked on the plantation, realized something was wrong when she didn't come home in the afternoon. He began searching for his wife ... only to find the snake still wrapped around Hapsah's neck.

Per Sungai Gelam Police Chief Iptu Usaha Sitepu ... to prevent the snake from consuming his wife, M Safri pulled on the snake's tail and hit it until it eventually loosened its grip.

The incident left the whole community shaken ... as a mob of enraged locals soon formed -- who hunted down the python and beat it to death.

Village head Amdi added ... "It was massive. It was taken to the village to be shown to the community after it was killed."

Hapsah's body has since been returned home and is being prepared for a funeral.

This isn't the first fatal python attack in Indonesia this summer. Days before Hapsah's passing, another elderly woman from Palopo City was attacked and killed by a serpent in the Sumarambu mountains.