'Everything was intact': Crocodile 'aids' rescue team by retrieving intact body of drowned boy
EAST KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA: Authorities say a crocodile assisted in the search for a missing youngster, who had already died before being discovered. Last Friday, January 20, footage from the Jawa Estuary in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, showed a big crocodile swimming in the water with what appeared to be a human body in its mouth. It was quickly determined that the body belonged to four-year-old Muhammad Ziyad Wijaya, who had gone missing two days previously near the estuary.
The horrifying footage of a crocodile carrying a tiny child's body on its back was shown by Indonesian media. As soon as the locals and the victim's family lifted the child's body out of the water, the crocodile vanished into the riverbed. The body was quickly transported to the mainland by the joint search and rescue crew and locals, as per reported by Gulf Today.
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In addition, when the small boy's body was successfully taken to shore, no wounds were discovered other than a bite in the back caused by the crocodile when picking up the body from the river water and transporting it to the boat. However, it is still unclear how Muhammad drowned. It is also unknown whether or not the crocodiles in the estuary contributed to his death. “Nothing was missing; everything was intact,” head of the East Kalimantan Search and Rescue Agency Melkanius Kotta said. “We think the crocodile actually aided in the search for the victim," as reported by Detik News.
Authorities reported that a similar occurrence had taken place in 2017 when a crocodile grabbed a 40-year-old man who was taking a bath in the estuary and dragged him into the water. The community turned to a crocodile whisperer for assistance, who reportedly succeeded in persuading the reptile to return the victim's body to his family, as reported by Coconuts Jakarta.
However, crocodile attacks have risen in recent parts, Meaww previously reported on August 2 that a crocodile killed a teen from Indonesia who was spending time with his friends at a lake. Farjan Idham was fishing with his friends in Ternate City's Lake Tolire when the predator attacked. According to reports, the 15-year-old boy was resting on a log when the crocodile jumped out of the water and dragged him into the lake's waters. His buddies attempted everything they could to get him out of the beast's clutches, but they failed. The crocodile appears to have struck them with its tail.