by According to the man, the instinctive movement helped him escape the terrifying jaws of the “terrible” crocodile.
9News reported on April 9 that the crocodile attack occurred in Cooktown, Queensland, Australia.
The 44-year-old man was killed when he was attacked by a 4.5-metre crocodile while speargun diving.
“The crocodile bit him three times and tried to pull him to the bottom,” said Queensland Ambulance Service Officer Valerie Noble. “He said he tried to put his hand in the crocodile’s eye several times until it wouldn’t let go. Then he tried to swim to the shore.”
Rescuers then took the man, who was in a hard-to-reach area, to safety and airlifted him to Cairns Hospital.
The 44-year-old man suffered multiple lacerations at the site of the bite and also suffered serious injuries to his head, abdomen and legs. After being treated by doctors, the man is in stable condition.
“He was really lucky. There aren’t many people like him who have survived to tell a story like this,” Mr Noble said.
The incident prompted local official Peter Scott to warn people planning to jump into the river to spearfish.
“I would advise the rangers out there to warn people and ask them to check carefully before going into the water for fishing or swimming,” Mr Peter said.
Queensland officials said they would send personnel to investigate and determine whether the crocodile was still in the area so that appropriate measures could be taken to ensure safety.
