Absolutely, they don't have limbs - they have teeth and coils to secure themselves and will readily use either when frightened. Imagine yourself falling from a large tree, you're going to be flailing around trying to grab anything you can to stop the fall. A snake is going to do the same thing with their given tools - teeth and coils.
Very unfortunate event regardless of what the autopsy reveals. Whether it's found that the snake did indeed kill the boys or not, the blame should(obvious to competent keepers) fall on the man who owned the animal. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the 2 lost boys.