Mum-of-three’s mutilated body discovered after she was ‘dragged’ into river

The woman suffered a tragic death after a crocodile emerged and lunged at her, with her half-eaten body discovered on a river bank the following day

A mother of three has lost her life in a horrific crocodile^[1] attack, with her half-eaten body discovered on a riverbank one day later.

The incident took place mid-morning on the 19th September as the woman was trying to catch fish^[2]. According to a witness, locals who saw the attack “raised an alarm and tried to save her,” but they were not successful.

“The crocodile emerged from nowhere and lunged at her. Before she could react, it dragged her into the water,” Santanu Kumar Dalei, a forest range officer of Mahakalapada, told the Press Trust of India.

The woman, who has been identified locally as Laxmi Dalei, was in the Gobari River near Bhitarkanika National Park under the Mahakalapada forest range in Odishi, India, where she was dragged into the water by the beast.

READ MORE: Ex-radio host ‘taken and consumed by crocodile’ after vanishing on fishing trip^[3]READ MORE: Man’s agonising final moments in ‘suicide by snake’ as he’s suffocated and drowned in blood^[4]

Bhitarkanika is a vast saltwater swamp in Odisha that spans around 404 miles across the Brahmani River and Baitarani River deltas. The area is home to 1,826 saltwater crocodiles, according to The Times of India.

“We do not think crocodiles are a risk to public safety if people keep out of the waters, but if people enter the water, their safety cannot be guaranteed,” range officer Santuru told the local outlet.

Laxmi is survived by three young daughters and her husband, according to the Times of India.

It comes after a grandfather was dragged to his death by a crocodile, which then went on to parade the victim’s body in front of horrified onlookers.

Wasim, 80, was reportedly attacked by the 10ft reptile while bathing in the river near his home in Tanggamus Regency in Lampung Province, Sumatra, Indonesia^[5], on June 30.

Sadly, the elderly man was unable to shout for help as the croc dragged him beneath the surface. The man was discovered missing when another villager named Yusron found his clothes on the river bank, but there was no sign of the pensioner.

READ MORE: ‘Oldest man’s’ gruesome death in jaws of 25 foot beast is ‘worst ever discovered’^[6]

The 40-year-old gathered the locals for a search before spotting Wasim being dragged by the crocodile that was still lurking at the scene. As the croc fled with the man in its jaws, villagers armed with sticks tried to chase the animal from the banks of the Semaka River.

They then began battering the creature with sticks and the crocodile eventually released Wasim’s body. Semaka Police Chief AKP Sutarto said: “The victim was found within an hour or at 13.00 Western Indonesia Time (WIB), after the crocodile emerged carrying him in its mouth. After being struck several times, the crocodile finally released the victim’s body. But when recovered, he was already in a lifeless state.”

Wasim’s son-in-law, Samugi, said the elderly man had bid his family goodbye before heading to the river that morning. He said: “It was just a normal day for us. We didn’t expect it to end tragically like this.”