A tourist who was attacked by a huge crocodile while fishing was dragged underwater in front of his ‘traumatised’ wife and children, authorities have revealed.
The New South Wales family were on a caravan trip through Far North Queensland when the 40-year-old man went missing near the Annan River Bridge, south of Cooktown, on Saturday afternoon.
The man and his family were fishing on the bank of a river near the bridge when he fell into the water and was unable to surface.
A large crocodile had recently been sighted nearby, frequenting the area called ‘Crocodile Bend’.
“It was a large crocodile, according to witnesses,” Senior Sergeant Greg Finucane told reporters on Sunday.
‘Our deepest condolences to the family, who are clearly very traumatised at this time.’
Police have not confirmed what part of New South Wales the family is from or the ages of the victim’s children.
They also declined to comment on speculation that members of the public had been feeding the crocodiles in the vicinity.
A man was attacked by a crocodile in front of his wife and children near Cooktown on Saturday afternoon. Pictured is the ongoing search
The man fell into the water and did not manage to come to the surface. Neither he nor the crocodile have been seen since.
The family is known to have been just passing through Cooktown at the time.
The search for the man is expected to continue well into Sunday night and Monday, but has been subject to difficult conditions.
Dozens of police officers, State Emergency Service personnel and wildlife officers from the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI).
Personnel were also brought in from Cairns and drones and boats were also used in the search.
“It’s basically a search and rescue mission. We’ve been patrolling the riverbank. It’s quite a large area, about five kilometres of waterway,” said Senior Sergeant Finucane.
‘It is a tidal phenomenon. It is affected by currents, also by the weather and the natural movement of crocodiles must be taken into account.
“We will continue with search and rescue procedures, using drones, boats and specialized units from the Far North region.”
Authorities are trying to capture the crocodile, which has not been sighted since the man disappeared.
“Wildlife officers from Cairns travelled to Cooktown last night and conducted a preliminary site inspection of a section of the Annan River,” a Queensland environment department spokesman said. 7News.
The search for the man is expected to continue through Sunday night and Monday, but has been subject to difficult conditions.
‘Intensive surveys of the river will be carried out today, including land-based and drone surveys. Additional wildlife officers are available to travel to Cooktown if required.
‘While the circumstances of this matter are yet to be confirmed, we remind everyone that Cooktown is known as ‘Croc Country’ and urge everyone to be safe by practising ‘CrocWise’ behaviour.’
Cook County Mayor Robyn Holmes also shared her condolences with the family.
“It appears to be a tragic and totally unexpected accident,” he said. ABC.
“Small communities certainly feel compassion for the victims of things like this.”
There are also reports from locals that a known predator had made Crocodile Bend its territory and associated people with food due to having been fed roadkill upriver from the site.
myExperts had recently taken drone images of the crocodile at that location and it is estimated to be 4.8 metres long.
“People throw roadkill in there for it to eat and it could have been sitting there 15 feet under water waiting to be fed,” said one Cooktown resident. Cairns Mail.
‘There’s been a bit of rain so the bench would have been soft and even if he hadn’t been near the edge it could have collapsed underneath him.
“It’s just horrible and everyone is feeling sorry for the family; to see that happen in front of you is unthinkable.”
Locals warned tourists not to fish near the bridge (pictured) as deep river banks in the area would make it difficult to escape an attack.
Crocodile Bend is known to be a hotspot for crocodile activity.
Local resident Bart Harrison urged tourists to find a safer place to fish, warning that its steep banks would make it difficult to escape an attack.
“You could go there at almost any low tide and see a big crocodile lying on the shore in front of you,” Harrison said.
‘A lot of people take pictures and things of them sitting there.’
