This is the chilling moment a crocodile surfaced from the water with the body of a woman in its jaws.
The 13ft reptile pounced on mother-of-four Nurhawati Zihura, 46, while she was washing her feet in the seawater next to her coastal village in North Sumatra, Indonesia, this morning.
Shocked locals heard her screams but could only watch as the beast thrashed her body in a haunting ‘death roll’ to disorientate her.
The croc then dragged away the housewife as she disappeared below the surface close to the Deaa Orahili Beach in the Pulau-Pulau Batu district of South Nias Regency.
Shockingly, the animal emerged around an hour later clutching Nurhawati’s lifeless body in its jaws.
Footage shows how locals threw dead chickens into the water to distract the deadly croc and make it release the body.
Resident Agustinus, 40, said: ‘I saw the crocodile attacking Nurhawati on the surface of the water. We shouted but it would not release her. It was a terrible sight, worse than any of the scenes of hell. Her blood was spilling into the water.
‘Later on, the crocodile appeared with her body in its mouth. We went out in boats and fed chicken to crocodile, so it would eat that instead of her.’
The chilling moment in which a crocodile surfaced from the water with the body of a woman in its jaws was captured on camera
46-year-old Nurhawati Zihura, was washing her feet in the seawater next to her coastal village in North Sumatra, Indonesia, when the animal pounced on her
Shocked locals heard the mother’s screams but could only watch as the beast thrashed her body in a haunting ‘death roll’ to disorientate her
Fendi, one of Nurhawati’s relatives, said she had ventured into the shallows to wash her feet as she had been feeling unwell.
He added: ‘She wanted to bathe in the seawater to clean her feet. She thought it would help [her] feel better.
‘Many people bathe in the sea and we think that if we stay close to the shore we will be safe. Now the crocodiles are more dangerous than before.’
Residents finally managed to pull Nurhawati onto a boat and took her ashore where she was pronounced dead. A funeral service was held in the evening.
Local police and soldiers continued searching for the crocodile and it was dragged ashore in the afternoon. A policeman shot the animal dead.
Officials are now calling for the government to take action to prevent further crocodile attacks.
Kornelius Wau, the Head of Pulau-Pulau Batu Sub-district, said: ‘I have asked the North Sumatra Provincial Government through the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) to take real action.
‘Many of these wild animals are still roaming the coast of Tello Island.
The croc then dragged away the woman as she disappeared below the surface close to the Deaa Orahili Beach in the Pulau-Pulau Batu district of South Nias Regency
Shockingly, the animal emerged around two hours later holding Nurhawati’s lifeless body in its jaws
The crocodile was later caught and shot dead by worried locals
‘I am worried that if this problem is not addressed, it will become a serious threat to the residents there.
‘Where the majority of residents’ settlements are on the coast and their livelihoods are at sea.
‘There are other wild crocodiles are still roaming the coast of Tello Island and its surroundings.
‘More than 80 per cent of our residents make their living at sea and even most of our residents’ settlements are on the coast.
‘They often bathe in the sea, so this is a threat to us and until it is solved, will we live in a frightening situation.’
Indonesia has the most crocodile attacks in the world.
There were at least 1,000 incidents over the past decade – though many more are believed to have been unreported – resulting in more than 450 fatalities, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The archipelago is home to 14 types of crocs – with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region’s climate.
Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles’ natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.
With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
