Search in progress - Child in Australia probably killed by crocodile
A missing child in a remote area of Australia may have been attacked by a crocodile. "According to initial reports, the child was attacked by a crocodile," explained the Northern Territory Police on Wednesday. Law enforcement agencies now believe there is no hope of finding the child alive. "We can certainly say that we are in the recovery phase," quoted Australian media Police Minister Brent Potter.
Authorities are searching a large section of a creek. The child was last seen on Tuesday afternoon, swimming in a waterway called Mango Creek, approximately 350 kilometers southwest of Darwin. Initially, a girl had reported the incident, and the gender of the victim is now publicly disclosed.
Search in crocodile-infested waters
Potter referred to it as a "tragic incident" and emphasized that it was terrible for a family to lose a child under such circumstances. The response teams have been tasked with locating and removing the crocodile from the water to recover the child: "These officers are trained divers and go into crocodile-infested waters when necessary."
The officers were using boats and searching a large section of Mango Creek near the Aboriginal community of Nganmarriyanga. Police spokesperson Erica Gibson said: "Our thoughts are with the family and the community."
Two fatal attacks per year
Although crocodile attacks are rare, they are not unheard of in the sparsely populated Northern Territory. In the region, both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles live. Saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to six meters long, are considered much more dangerous and extremely aggressive. Freshwater crocodiles, up to three meters long, called "Freshies," only attack humans when they feel threatened. However, these attacks are usually not fatal.
According to the Northern Territory Government, there are over 100,000 crocodiles in the region. On average, there are two fatal crocodile attacks per year in all of Australia. In June, members of an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory had shot and communally consumed a "problem crocodile" that had previously approached both animals and humans.
The search for the missing child involves exploring crocodile-infested waters near the Aboriginal community of Nganmarriyanga. The trained divers, who are part of the response team, are well-equipped to handle such hazards.
Despite the remote location and the presence of dangerous saltwater crocodiles, fatal attacks in the Northern Territory occur on average twice a year in Australia.
