Boy, 10, Snatched From Boat And Killed By Crocodile In Philippines

A young boy has died after a crocodile snatched him from a boat in the Philippines.

The 10-year-old, named locally as Milhasan Baracbac, was on a small boat on his way home with his two siblings when the reptile jumped out of the water and pulled him under, last Sunday. His siblings were able to escape unharmed.

Despite an overnight search, led by the child's dad, there was no sign of him in the waters of Balabac, notorious for the number of reptiles in the area.

According to the Palawan Daily News, his remains turned up two days after his disappearance, when a fisherman found the boy's head and one of his legs in a mangrove swamp.

It's believed the boy's remains were dragged around 90km from where the attack happened.

Local resident Boyet Bonit, whose brother was killed by a crocodile last year, told the paper: "We've always said, what's more important, the life of a human or of a crocodile?"

PA

The police reports stated the attack happened at around 6pm on Sunday evening.

Balabac is surrounded by around three dozen islands, and as a result of a diminishing habitat, there has been an increasing number of confrontations between humans and crocs.

The death of this young boy was the fifth crocodile attack this year.

Last year a scientist in Indonesia was believed to have been eaten by a crocodile she was attempting to feed at the lab she worked.

Forty-four-year-old Deasy Tuwo, from Indonesia, was reportedly dragged into the enclosure by a crocodile while she was feeding it at a research facility in North Sulawesi.

The croc, named Merry, was later found with the scientist's remains still in its jaws. According to officials, the animal may have stood on its hind legs and jumped up the wall of the enclosure, which was 8ft high, before dragging her into the water.

PA

Merry has reportedly attacked other crocs but wasn't considered to be a risk to humans.

Rescuers attempted to revive Deasy, whose body was found savaged. As they approached, the crocodile was said to 'thrash violently'.

Deasy was described as a quiet woman and animal lover.

A colleague of Deasy's, Erling Rumengan said: "We were curious when we looked at the crocodile pool, there was a floating object, it was Deasy's body.

"We were afraid to touch it and we immediately reported the incident at the Tombariri police station.

"It's possible the crocodile jumped from the side. Maybe it's because the crocodile was still full, it didn't finish eating her body."

Topics: Death, World News, Interesting, crocodile, Philippines, Animals

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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