An Australian fisherman was likely killed by a crocodile after tumbling down a riverbank into a creek, police said Tuesday after finding human remains in the gut of a 4.9-metre (16-foot) reptile caught nearby.
The 40-year-old man was fishing on a riverbank in tropical north Queensland when he “fell into the water and failed to resurface”, police said in a statement.
They were told the man had “been taken by a crocodile”.
The fisherman had been casting his line at a secluded spot known among locals as “crocodile bend”, Australian media reported.
Rangers trapped and killed a large crocodile close to where the fisherman had plunged into the water.
Police said they believed they had found the man’s remains inside the beast, and were now working on a formal identification.
A 12-year-old girl was killed by a crocodile in July while swimming near a remote settlement in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Deadly crocodile attacks are rare but not unheard of in Australia’s northern tropics.
Earlier this year, a saltwater crocodile was shot, cooked and eaten after menacing a Northern Territory community.
Fisherman killed by crocodile after falling into river
Fisherman killed by crocodile after falling into riverFisherman killed by crocodile after falling into riverFisherman killed by crocodile after falling into river
