Firefighters were called to remove an escaped Burmese python from a local zoo after it was found on the fourth floor of a residential building in Zigong, Sichuan Province on September 21. Photo: West China Metropolis Daily

An escaped Burmese python from a zoo in Zigong, Sichuan Province was finally captured slithering around a nearby apartment building, the West China Metropolis Daily reported on September 23.

Two firefighters from Zhongyunshan detachment were called to a residential building near the Dongfang Square to bag and remove the 3-meter snake after it was discovered on the fourth floor September 21, four days after it escaped from the Caideng Park Zoo.

"We searched everywhere, including the sewers, but didn't find it," said a Caideng Park Zoo employee, adding the wily serpent possibly escaped through a small hole at the top of its cage.

Zhang Li, Caideng Park's deputy director of management, said the park has fined the zoo and ordered an upgrade of its facilities.

While Burmese pythons are one of the largest snakes in the world, Zoo employees assure that they are not poisonous, docile and rarely attack humans.

Web editor: pangqi@globaltimes.com.cn