Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uwv3kw3opobnfxp/VRP70066.mp4?dl=0 (Footage shows the search boy the victim and recovery of his body).
A young man was killed by a crocodile while bathing in a river in Indonesia.
Didi Apriyanto, 23, had gone to the Nyiur River in Riau province, province to look for worms to use as fishing bait on October 3. He was washing himself in the water when the hungry reptile pounced and dragged him under.
Villagers called for help after hearing Didi’s screams mixed with splashing. He then failed to surface from the river.
Residents and search and rescue officers searched for the fisherman shortly after was seen being taken by the croc.
Indragiri Hilir Police Chief Dian Setiawan said: ‘Eyewitnesses said that the victim immediately disappeared from the surface of the water. He was attacked by a fairly large crocodile.
‘At that time he was cleaning his body. The witnesses said that the victim cleaned himself in the river after looking for worms for his fishing bait.’
Didi’s body was only found the next day, Monday (October 4) morning, not far from the location where it was reported missing.
Footage shows the search team riding boats and spotting Didi’s lifeless corpse floating near some palm trees on the riverside. The rescuers wrapped his body in brown cloth before ferrying him to the riverbank where a crowd of onlookers were waiting.
The police confirmed that Didi’s body was intact, but had several bite wounds. After the incident, the police appealed to local residents to be more careful when moving near rivers.
Police chief Setiawan added: ‘The cause of death is a crocodile attack. We have warned everyone not to go in the river as the crocodile could still be likely to attack.’