Horror as teenage boy is mauled to death by crocodile in front of friends | World | News

A teenage boy was reportedly mauled to death by a crocodile while washing clothes in a river in Indonesia. Muhammad Rafli Hamzah, 14, had been doing the laundry after school when the animal lunged from the murky waters in South Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, on January 5.

His horrified friends and younger sibling watched helplessly as the schoolboy struggled to break free before being pulled from the riverbank and vanishing into the depths. A desperate search began later that afternoon, with family members and rescue volunteers combing the river.

They hunted for hours before discovering Rafli’s lifeless body floating on the surface. Video footage captures the boy deceased in the crocodile’s jaws on the opposite side of the river. The Kendari Search and Rescue Office sent a team to retrieve Rafli’s body.

The search coordinator, identified only as Amiruddin, stated: “At approximately 3.30 pm WITA, a rescue team was sent to the incident site. On reaching the location, the team carried out a search along the river using several boats, including those belonging to local fishermen.”

Ipda Alimudin Latif, Kolono Police Chief, said the body, bearing numerous bite marks, was eventually recovered around 200 metres downstream from the attack site.

He added: “Yes, the victim was found deceased. There were multiple bite wounds. He was retrieved by a combined SAR and Fire Department team.

“We urge the community to heighten their awareness to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.”

The Indonesian archipelago hosts 14 species of crocodiles, including a substantial population of aggressive estuarine crocodiles which thrive in the region’s climate.

Conservationists suggest that crocodiles are being forced further inland towards villages owing to overfishing depleting their natural prey, alongside habitat destruction from converting coastal areas into farmland. Extensive tin mining has also led villagers to intrude upon the crocodiles’ natural territories.

These factors are driving the reptiles nearer to human settlements. With many residents in rural areas still relying on rivers for bathing and basic fishing due to a lack of infrastructure, this lethal mix of circumstances has resulted in an increase in crocodile attacks across the nation.