Crocodile drags grandfather to his death before parading body in its jaws
Horrifying footage has captured the moment a crocodile mauled an elderly man to death before being chased by furious locals.
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Warning: Confronting footage.
Horrifying footage has emerged of the moment an Indonesian grandfather was mauled to death by a crocodile and paraded around in front of horrified villagers.
The man, known only as Wasim, was reportedly washing himself in the river just moments before the over three-metre-long croc lunged from the shallows of the Semaka River in Lampung.
The 80-year-old was unable to shout for help as he was yanked beneath the surface on Monday afternoon. He was discovered missing when another villager Yusron, 40, found his clothes on the riverbank.
Chilling footage shows the crocodile swimming away with the man in its mouth as onlookers armed with sticks and rocks bravely chased it from the riverbanks.
Semaka Police Chief AKP Sutarto told local media: “The victim was found within an hour or at 13.00 WIB, after the crocodile emerged carrying him in its mouth.
“After being struck several times, the crocodile finally released the victim’s body. But when recovered, he was already in a lifeless state.”
Police further revealed that Wasim had suffered jagged wounds on his back and shoulders.
Wasim’s devastated son-in-law also fronted local media, telling them: “It was just a normal day for us. We didn’t expect it to end tragically like this.”
Indonesia has the most crocodile attacks in the world, with the Indonesian archipelago home to 14 species of crocodiles.
There were at least 1,000 incidents over the past decade, though many more are believed to have gone unreported.
Just last year, an Indonesian grandfather was savagely mauled to death by a crocodile while going for a swim just metres from his home.
M Yunus, 68, was in the Peureulak River on August 29 when the beast ripped him in half, leaving just his clothes and phone behind.
Rescuers worked tirelessly to scour the river until the next day, when they found his body drifting downstream around a mile from where his clothes were recovered.
He was thought to have been caught in a wooden branch and was tragically left without his upper body.
His remains – only half of his body – were taken home for a funeral, but his upper body, head and arms were never found.
Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland, closer to villages due to overfishing, resorting in reduction of food supplies and habitat loss.
Widespread tin mining has also led to villagers encroaching on the crocodiles’ natural habitats, pushing the reptiles towards busy towns and villages.
With locals still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, police have continued to urge residents to exercise caution and vigilance.
Originally published as Crocodile drags grandfather to his death before parading body in its jaws