Staff at an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch in the city of Nanning, China, dispersed in seconds after a huge python dropped into the morning briefing on Friday.
Footage from the bank’s VIP room shows the group of employees gathered in a circle at just after 8am local time on October 12 when the snake suddenly falls from a ceiling board.
The animal lands at the feet of a man and a woman, who run screaming from the room. It turns out the giant snake was actually an adolescent Burmese python – one of the five largest species of snakes in the world.
The python, native to a large area of tropical South and Southeast Asia, sent the staff fleeing in different directions. But it appeared to be just as terrified as the humans it had interrupted, quickly darting under some furniture for safety. One employee later returned to the room to record the animal on his mobile phone – because if you don’t get it on camera did it even happen?
The snake was later captured with the help of wildlife rescue workers and was measured at over 3 feet long, weighing some 16.5 lbs. It is expected to be released back into the wild.