An Australian man who leapt on to a crocodile after it seized his wife in its jaws, wrestling and poking it in the eyes until it let go, was praised on Thursday as a hero by startled onlookers.
The 2,5m croc charged late on Wednesday from shallow water at Litchfield National Park, a popular outback waterhole south of Darwin, locking jaws around the thighs of 36-year-old visitor Wendy Pethrick.
”These crocs are vicious machines,” said local man Steve Landreth, who watched amazed as Pethrick’s husband Norm leapt on to the reptile’s back and jabbed at its eyes to free his wife.
”I think she’s one of the bravest women I’ve ever met,” Landreth told Australian Associated Press, praising both husband and wife.
”Even after being grabbed in the thigh by a crocodile and injured she was just talking very calmly about what happened. They’re far braver then me, I can tell you,” Landreth said.
Doctors said Pethrick had been fetching water and suffered serious bite wounds to both legs.
”This could have been a fatal and tragic situation. The sheer force of a crocodile biting down is quite incredible,” Royal Darwin Hospital general manager Len Notaras said, adding Pethrick had been saved by her husband’s ”swift and diligent actions”.
Crocodile attacks are relatively common in Australia’s tropical north and doctors usually deal with about three incidents a year. — Reuters