A tourist who was attacked by a huge crocodile while fishing was dragged underwater in front of his “traumatised” wife and children, authorities have said.
The family from New South Wales were on a caravan trip through Far North Queensland when the 40-year-old man disappeared on Saturday afternoon near the Annan River Bridge, south of Cooktown.
The man and his family were fishing on the riverbank, near the bridge, when he fell into the water and never surfaced.
A large crocodile that is common in the area, known as ‘Crocodile Bend’, was recently spotted nearby.
“According to witnesses it was a large crocodile,” Sergeant Greg Finucane told reporters on Sunday.
“Our condolences go out to the family, who are clearly very traumatized at this time.”
Police have not confirmed where in NSW the family is from or how old the victim’s children are.
They also refused to comment on speculation that people in the area had been feeding crocodiles.
A man was attacked by a crocodile in front of his wife and children near Cooktown on Saturday afternoon. The photo shows the ongoing search
The man had fallen into the water and never surfaced. Neither he nor the crocodile have been seen since.
It seems that the family was only passing through Cooktown at the time
The search for the man is expected to last until Sunday evening and Monday, but conditions are difficult.
Dozens of police officers, State Emergency Service staff and conservationists from the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI).
Personnel were also brought in from Cairns and drones and watercraft were used in the search.
“It’s basically a search and rescue mission. We’re patrolling the riverbank. It’s quite a large area, about 5km of waterway,” said Senior Sergeant Finucane.
‘It is tidal. It is affected by currents, also the weather and the natural movement of crocodiles must be taken into account.
“We are continuing search and rescue procedures, using drones, vessels and specialized units from the far north.”
Authorities want to capture the crocodile, which has not been seen since the man disappeared.
“Wildlife staff from Cairns travelled to Cooktown last night and conducted a preliminary inspection of a section of the Annan River,” a Queensland Environment Department spokesperson said 7News.
The search for the man is expected to continue Sunday evening and Monday, but conditions are difficult.
‘Intensive surveys of the river are being carried out today, including land and drone surveys. Additional wildlife officers are on standby to travel to Cooktown if required.
‘While the circumstances of this case have not yet been confirmed, we remind everyone that Cooktown is known as ‘Croc Country’ and urge everyone to be safe by exhibiting ‘CrocWise’ behaviour.’
Cook Shire Mayor Robyn Holmes also offered her condolences to the family.
“It appears to be a tragic accident and it came completely unexpected,” she told the ABC.
‘Small communities certainly sympathize with the victims of these kinds of things.’
There are also reports from locals that a known predator has made Crocodile Bend its territory and has introduced people to food as they were fed roadkill upstream from the site.
IExperts recently captured drone footage of the crocodile at the site, which is estimated to be 4.8 meters long.
“People throw a dead animal in the water for it to eat and it could have been sitting there 15 feet under water waiting for a meal,” a Cooktown resident told the Cairns Message.
‘We’ve had a little rain, so the bank is soft. Even if he wasn’t at the edge, the bank could still go under him.
“It’s just terrible and everyone is with the family. It’s unthinkable to see something like this happen before your eyes.”
Locals warned tourists not to fish near the bridge (pictured), as the deep riverbanks in the area would make it difficult to escape an attack.
Crocodile Bend is known as a hotspot for crocodiles.
Local resident Bart Harrison urged tourists to find a safer place to fish, warning that the steep banks would make it difficult to escape an attack.
“At low tide you can easily see a large crocodile lying on the bank opposite you,” Mr Harrison said.
“There are a lot of people taking pictures and things like that of themselves while they’re sitting there.”
