A tourist who was attacked by a massive 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 road trip through Far North Queensland when the man, 40, went missing near the Annan River Bridge, south of Cooktown on Saturday afternoon.
The man and his family were fishing on a riverbank near the bridge when he fell into the water and failed to resurface.
A large crocodile known to frequent the area, which is known as ‘Crocodile Bend’, had recently been spotted nearby.
‘It was a large crocodile, according to witnesses,’ Senior Sergeant Greg Finucane told reporters on Sunday.
‘Condolences go to the family, who are obviously very traumatised at the moment.’
Police have not confirmed where in NSW the family is from or the age of the victim’s children.
They also declined to comment on speculation that members of the public had been feeding 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 had fallen into the water and failed to resurface. Neither he or the crocodile have been seen since
It’s understood the family had only been 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, State Emergency Service personnel and Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) wildlife officers.
Staff had also been brought in from Cairns, with the search also utilising drones and watercraft.
‘It’s basically a search and rescue mission. We’ve been patrolling the river bank. It is quite a large area, approximately 5km of waterway,’ Senior Sergeant Finucane said.
‘It is tidal. It’s affected by currents, also weather and the natural movement of crocodiles has to be taken into account.
‘We’ll continue search and rescue procedures, utilising drones and water craft and specialist units from the far north region.’
Authorities intend to capture the crocodile, which has not been spotted since the man’s disappearance.
‘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 spokesperson told 7News.
The search for the man is expected to continue into Sunday night and Monday but has been subject to difficult conditions
‘Intensive surveys of the river will be conducted today, including land-based and drone surveys. Additional wildlife officers are on standby to travel to Cooktown should they be required.
‘While the circumstances of this matter are yet to be confirmed, we remind everyone that Cooktown is known ‘Croc Country’ and urge everyone to be safe by practising ‘CrocWise’ behaviour.’
Cook Shire Mayor Robyn Holmes also shared her condolences for the family.
‘It appears to be a tragic accident and it was totally unexpected,’ she told the ABC.
‘Small communities certainly do feel for any victims of things that happen like this.’
There are also reports from locals that a well-known predator had made Crocodile Bend his patch and associated people with food due to being fed roadkill upstream from where the man was taken.
Experts had recently taken drone footage of the crocodile at that spot and is estimated to be 4.8m long.
‘People throw roadkill in for it to eat and he could have been sitting there 15ft under the water waiting for a feed,’ a Cooktown local told the Cairns Post.
‘We have had a bit of rain, so the bank would be soft and even if he wasn’t near the edge it could have fallen away beneath him.
‘It’s just horrendous and everyone is feeling about the family, to watch that happen in front of you is unthinkable.’
Locals warned tourists against fishing near the bridge (pictured) as deep riverbanks in the area would make it difficult to escape an attack
Crocodile Bend is known as a hotspot for crocodile activity.
Local Bart Harrison urged tourists to find a safer spot to fish, warning its steep banks would make it difficult to escape an attack.
‘You could go there just about any low tide and see a big croc laying on the bank opposite you,’ Mr Harrison said.
‘A lot of people get photos and stuff of them sitting there.’
