6 Aug 2013

Boys killed by escaped python

3:29 pm on 6 August 2013

Police in Canada are investigating how two boys were killed by a python that escaped from an exotic pet store.

In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they believed the reptile had strangled the two boys, aged five and seven, in Campbellton in the province of New Brunswick.

The BBC reports the boys were staying overnight in an apartment above an animal store.

Police said they believe the snake slipped out of its cage overnight and travelled through the ventilation. The serpent has since been captured: officials said they believed it was an African rock python.

The owner of the store told CTV News that he had had the snake since 2001.

The BBC reports no charges have been laid so far.