Croc mauls couple on beach
2004-10-11 08:00
Sydney - A man and a woman were seriously hurt on Monday when a large crocodile attacked them as they slept on a beach in northeastern Australia.
The two, an elderly woman and a 34-year-old man, were asleep in a tent when the 4.2-metre saltwater crocodile attacked, said wildlife officials in Queensland state.
The two were flown by helicopter to a ranger station with the man suffering serious injuries to his legs and body and the woman hurt in the upper body, they said.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service official Clive Cook said the two were inside their tent early in the morning when the crocodile grabbed the man, then took the woman and began dragging her towards the water.
"Apparently somebody else who was up there then subsequently shot dead the crocodile," Cook said.
The group set off a rescue beacon, which alerted a wildlife service crew in the area to eradicate wild pigs.
A helicopter evacuated the injured to the local ranger station and the country's Royal Flying Doctor Service was sending a team to pick them up.
Considered among the deadliest hunters on earth, the aggressive saltwater crocodile inhabits swamps and waterways throughout Australia's north.
Their victims are only occasionally human, with just 14 confirmed fatal crocodile attacks in 27 years. The last was a 22-year-old man taken last December as he fished in a river in the Northern Territory.