A police spokesman said Renate Klosse tried to loosen the female python's grip by pushing on its mouth with her thumbs while her coworkers disoriented the animal by spraying it with hoses until it dropped Klosse and slithered away, The Mirror reported Monday.

"The jaws of the snake opened so wide that, with one lunge, she was able to completely cover the woman's face," the police spokesman said. "She feared that with a few more gulps her head would be inside."

Klosse was treated at a local hospital for bites and shock.