Snakes get loose on Qantas flight

A Qantas Airlines flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne had to be grounded after four baby pythons escaped from their foam box in the plane’s cargo hold.

They were among 12 pythons being flown to Melbourne.

Passengers were offloaded and transferred to other aircraft to make connections. The plane itself had to be fumigated. So far the bodies of the four snakes have yet to turn up.

Authorities are at a loss to explain how the snakes managed to escape in the first place, and it is unclear just how the flight crew learned that snakes were loose on the plane.

The plane is back in service, likely with the corpses of four reptiles somewhere in its hold.