Buddhist monk, 62, calmly asks for help as wild python strangles him

This is the shocking moment a Buddhist monk calmly asked for help as a four-metre-long python strangled him.

Phra Withee Khamwilai, 62, was cleaning his home when a neighbour spotted the reptile slithering along a temple wall in Samut Prakan on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand.

Withee reportedly tried to grab the snake with his bare hands, but it latched onto his wrist and wrapped around his arm.

Despite bleeding heavily as the snake's fangs dug into his flesh, the cool-headed monk managed to walk over to the Wat Mokkh temple to ask for help.

CCTV footage on Jan 16 shows him ambling toward other monks as the beast constricted his torso. He then collapsed when it tightened its grip on his neck.

@asiaone

Here's a PSA not to handle wild snakes 🐍 Phra Withee Khamwilai, 62, was cleaning his home in Samut Prakan on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, when a neighbour spotted a reticulated python. Though his neighbour warned him the snake could bite him, Withee grabbed it by the middle of the body with his bare hands and it sunk its teeth into him. The python began to constrict around his torso and then neck, at which point the monk lost consciousness. Temple staff freed the monk and called emergency services, and Withee was conscious but weak from blood loss by the time they arrived. He was rushed to hospital and the snake was relocated by experts. #thailand #news #snake #python #retic

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Staff scrambled to prise the serpent off of the unconscious Withee before calling emergency services as blood gushed from his wrist wound.

Medics rushed to the scene, where they found the monk had regained consciousness but was severely weakened from blood loss. Bright red blood on the ground marked his path and stained his saffron robes.

Withee was given first aid and rushed to Bang Chak Hospital for further care.

Residents said he lived alone in a small dwelling behind the temple, surrounded by trees.

Speaking after the near-death ordeal, the religious leader, who is in stable condition, said: "I was just cleaning my home when the snake slithered along the fence. My neighbours were too afraid to approach it. 

"When I saw it, I grabbed it in the middle of its body, not the head, and it bit me. The snake must have been around four meters long. Now I feel dizzy and faint, probably from losing too much blood."

A neighbour, Bangorn Khaopiriya, 67, said: "I was the first to see the python near the tree, so I went to alert the monk. I warned him that he could be bitten, but he walked past me and tried to catch it anyway.

"I stepped away, thinking he would remove his robe to handle the snake, but later I learned he had used his bare hands and was bitten. Seeing the snake and the blood shook me. I was so shocked that I couldn't do anything as he walked away, bleeding."

Rescue volunteers said they have removed the 15kg snake from temple grounds and released it into the wilderness.

Reticulated pythons are found throughout Southeast Asia, where they live in forests, swamps, canals and even in cities, causing them to come into conflict with humans.

The species is one of the world's largest snakes and can eat humans, cats, dogs, birds, rats and other snakes.

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