Huge python suffocates and kills security guard at luxury Bali hotel

The 13 foot serpent strangled the man to death when he attempted to capture it after spotting it on the popular holiday island

A 13 foot python has strangled a security guard to death on the holiday island of Bali, Indonesia (Getty Images)

A giant python has suffocated and killed a security guard at a luxury beachfront hotel on the holiday island of Bali, Indonesia.

Police have now warned holiday makers to be on guard as the huge snake, thought to be four metres (13 foot) long is still on the loose.

The security guard, Ambar Arianto Mulyo, 59, reportedly attempted to capture the snake after spotting it on Friday, but the serpent was able to get the better of him, wrapping itself around his neck, strangling the life out of him.

A second security guard witnessed the attack, which took place on the roadway outside the Bali Hyatt hotel, Jamie Zimmerman Rothfeld, a spokeswoman for the hotel told CNN.

“The management team and hotel associates of Bali Hyatt express their sincere condolences to the family of the victim of the python attack,” she said.

The Bali Hyatt, which is located in the Sanur area popular with tourists, is currently closed for renovation until 2015.

“The victim died on the spot as his neck was crushed and he could not breath,” local police chief Gusti Ngurah Yudistira told news agency AFP.

Officers continue to search for the animal.