Woman fails to save friend in Australian crocodile attack
BRISBANE, Australia » A woman struggled in vain to drag her friend from a crocodile’s jaws off a northeast Australian beach, police said on Monday.
The pair were in shallow water at Thornton Beach in the World Heritage-listed Daintree National Park in Queensland state when the 46-year-old woman was taken by the crocodile late Sunday, Police Senior Constable Russell Parker said.
“Her 47-year-old friend tried to grab her and drag her to safety but she just wasn’t able to do that,” Parker told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Police said the women were swimming in waist-deep water, while paramedics reported they were wading in knee-deep water when the crocodile struck.
A rescue helicopter fitted with thermal imaging equipment failed to find any trace of the missing woman Sunday night, Parker said, with the search resuming Monday with a helicopter, boat and land-based search teams.
The missing woman is from Lithgow in New South Wales state.
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The survivor from Cairns, 58 miles south of Thornton Beach, was taken to a hospital in Mossman suffering from shock and a graze to her arm inflicted as the crocodile brushed against her, Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman Neil Noble said.
“The report that we have from the surviving woman is that they felt a nudge and her partner started to scream and then was dragged into the water,” Noble told ABC.
The two women might not have been aware that the area was well known as a crocodile habitat, Parker said.
But Warren Enstch, who represents the area in the Australian Parliament, said the beach was beside a creek where tourism operators run crocodile-spotting tours. Enstch said the two tourists had to have seen plentiful crocodile warning signs in the region.
“You can’t legislate against human stupidity,” Entsch said. “If you go in swimming at 10 o’clock at night, you’re going to get consumed.”
The attack occurred near where a 5-year-old boy was taken and killed by a 14-foot crocodile from a swamp in 2009 and a 43-year-old woman was killed by a 16-foot croc while swimming in a creek in 1985.
Darwin-based crocodile expert Grahame Webb said while most crocodiles were found in rivers, swamps and other protected waterways, open beaches in northern Australia were not safe.
“There’ve been quite a lot of attacks off beaches and off coral reefs where people are snorkeling,” Webb said.
Crocodile numbers have boomed across Australia’s northern tropics since they became a protected species under federal law in 1971, and they pose an increasing threat to humans.
17 responses to “Woman fails to save friend in Australian crocodile attack”
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Only get shark attacks in Hawaii. Australia get crocodiles to worry about too.
What an asinine remark made by Entsch about stupidity. No class and no compassion for the victim.
You’re wrong. He’s talking about people in general.
Yes but it was made in reference to the incident. If he said it before the incident, then you’re correct. Hence, the timing of his remark is No Class!
I agree and that poor survivor will never get over this.
The fact is, he is correct. Maybe not politically or socially correct, but he’s more correct than people who ignore all the danger signs. The better solution is to educate people better, put up signs, maybe have them watch videos like at Hanauma Bay. Meanwhile, stupid is as stupid does.
“You can’t legislate against human stupidity,” Entsch said. “If you go in swimming at 10 o’clock at night, you’re going to get consumed.”
Yes, maybe Warren Entsch might’ve put it more delicately, but his intent, I think, was to warn tourists and the public in general that wild predators are, well, wild predators.
Well, if he’s too smart for anything to happen to him then more power to him.
What terrible wording of a headline. Makes it sound like her friend’s death was due to her “failure”.
“Woman struggles in vain to save friend from crocodile” might’ve been better, but the AP writer was possibly working under a short deadline.
Waist deep or knee deep water – depends on how tall you are.
The water was over the crocodile’s head anyway 🙂
“Stupidity” sounds like a Trump comment.
Condolences to the family of the victim and the surviving friend! The latter will, unfortunately, carries the burden of her friend’s death – may she find peace and consolation through her efforts and by placing herself in harms way, to help save her friend!
Geesh, sharks and crocs at Australian beaches. Only safe place is swimming pools.
Maybe drowning or getting hurt in a swimming pool accident is less gory, but it’s a heck of a lot more likely for someone, especially a kid, to die in a swimming pool than in the jaws of a croc, gator, or shark.
“You can’t legislate against human stupidity,” Entsch said.
Sure you can. Our legislature does it all the time.