Snakes on a plane

In a real version of the film, four pythons escape their containers on a Qantas plane; ground the flight

Snakes on a plane

In a real version of the film, four pythons escape their containers on a Qantas plane; ground the flight

Four pythons in a Qantas Boeing 737-800 plane's cargo hold, who escaped from a container during a flight, caused the plane to be grounded after airline staff failed to find them.

The snakes, measuring about 15 cm, were said by airline authorities to be in a consignment of 12 in a container on the aircraft on Tuesday during a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne.

With airline staff failing to find the reptiles among the luggage in the hold, the aircraft was grounded and an onward flight cancelled.

Representation pic
An airline spokesman

said the young Stimson's pythons were travelling in an "appropriate container", but could not say how they escaped.

"While (the container) was intact on departure (from Alice Springs), it was discovered on arrival that four of the animals (sic) had broken free," he said.

The Stimson python is not venomous. It grows to between 50 cm and one metre and is known to eat its preys which include birds, frogs, small mammals and other reptiles whole.

Common as pets in Australia and other parts of the world, pythons have been known to live for more than 20 years.

The aircraft, which is back in service, was fumigated to kill the snakes after it was established that they were not an endangered species.

Man bites snake

In another reptilian incident reported by news agencies on Tuesday, a Kenyan man broke free from the coils of a python by biting it in an amazing struggle lasting hours by summoning help on his mobile phone even as he grappled with the serpent for dear life.

Ben Nyaumbe was working on his farm when the enormous snake, apparently mistaking him for cattle, wrapped his legs in its coils and climbed a tree.

"I stepped on a spongy thing on the ground and suddenly my leg was entangled with the body of a huge python," Nyaumbe told Nairobi's Daily Nationu00a0 newspaper, adding, "I had to bite it."

Grappling desperately with the snake, which dragged him up a tree, the farmer managed to take his mobile phone out of his pocket when it eased its stranglehold, and called for help.

Nyaumbe tried to stifle the snake with his shirt, as his supervisor rushed to his help with a policeman, who helped tie it with a rope and pulled.

"We both came down, landing with a thud," said Nyaumbe who damaged his lips and was badly bruised, but lived to tell his remarkable tale.

The snake, however, managed to slither away from the three sacks in which it was wrapped up.

(With inputs from agencies)

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels