Kusoldharm rescue workers were called to the scene, near the Koh Kaew Public Health Center (see map below), by Koh Kaew Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) staff Arunsri Wichian.
The rescue workers arrived and tried unsuccessfully to remove the snake using their usual blue plastic pipes with nooses looped through them, and resorted to pouring a weak caustic soda solution into the drain to get the python out.
While the mild caustic soda solution did not have the immediate desired effect, after half an hour the snake finally moved closer to the opening of the drain.
Rescue workers were able to get a loop fastened around the python’s tail and start pulling the reptile out of the drain – but the snake was a little heavier and resistant than expected, leading to a host of local residents lending a hand.
The python was eventually put into a sack and later released into the wild away from people’s homes.
The owner of the house, Thanawan Eakthaweewatthanadet, told rescue workers that she had previously seen two pythons in a ditch nearby and had called local residents to catch them, which the local villagers failed to do.
This time, when she saw the python in the drain she called the OrBorTor as she was worried that the python would make its way into her house.
Ms Thanawan confirmed that the python caught last night looked like the pythons she had seen earlier, and remained concerned that one more large python was still at large in the area.