BANGKOK, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A man was comatose in a Thailand hospital Wednesday after a 20-foot python locked itself around his body, the BBC reported.
The snake was found earlier in a village east of the capital Bangkok, and Samrauy Phonlerk volunteered to take the snake to a national park.
An unidentified friend agreed to drive him there on his motorcycle, but as they were setting off, the snake escaped from a bag and began strangling Samruay.
The friend abandoned the motorcycle at a busy intersection and ran for help.
More than a dozen people beat the snake with sticks for over 20 minutes before it relented, the report said.
"Samrauy lost a lot of blood because he was bitten and constricted, but he came out of the intensive care unit this morning, although he is still unconscious," a police spokesman said.
The python was later released into the jungle.
