NEW DELHI: A furious saltwater crocodile lunged at a 37-year-old woman and dragged her into the river water in a village in Odisha's Kendrapara district in the latest human attack by crocodiles on humans.
The crocodile attacked Laxmi Dalei at the Gobari riverbed near Benakanda village under the Mahakalpada forest range on Friday (Sept 19) noon, while the victim, a traditional fisherwoman, was catching fish.
The crocodile emerged all of a sudden from nowhere and lunged at her. Before she could react, the reptile dragged her despite her efforts to escape from its claws, Forest Range Officer of the Mahakalapada forest range, Santanu Kumar Dalei, said, quoting eyewitness accounts.
A joint search operation by the forest department and the fire brigade is underway to trace the missing woman, who has not yet been found, the forest officer said.
The human-crocodile conflict in villages around the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary has become a disturbing feature, with rampaging crocodiles killing five to six people every year and injuring many.
Human interference in crocodile-infested water bodies, including rivers, creeks, and nullahs, leads to unfortunate mishaps in villages situated on the periphery of the 672-square-kilometre stretch of the sanctuary, which is home to 1,826 saltwater crocodiles, the highest in the country.
Residents of forest-side villages, however, point out that the rising number of saltwater crocodiles could be a key reason for the increase in human attacks by reptiles in villages around Bhitarkanika. - The Statesman/ANN