Horrifying moment 19-foot crocodile emerges with missing mum in its jaws

In a harrowing incident, a 19-foot crocodile was captured on video surfacing with the remains of a missing mum in its jaws after attacking her while she collected shellfish

This is the horrifying moment a crocodile emerged with a missing mother in its jaws in Indonesia. The 19ft beast was lurking under the surface as Jusmitawati, 36, and her friends were collecting shellfish at a river in Aceh province, on February 15.

But the river beast pounced when the mother broke away from the group to venture deeper into the water. Her panicked friends rushed back to the village in Simeulue Regency to call for help when Jusmitawati failed to answer their calls.

As residents crowded around the murky Luan Boya River, the croc emerged and paraded the woman’s dismembered corpse around. Shocking footage shows the predator drifting toward the surface carrying woman’s lifeless body in its jaws.

Volunteers tried to shoot the reptile to capture it before it vanished into the water. The search along the river continued until February 16, when the crocodile was killed around one kilometre away from the site of the attack.

Jusmitawati’s corpse was recovered in “horrific condition” with parts of her body missing. Rasmanudin Rahamin, chair of the Simeulue people’s council, said: “Yes, I was at the location, and thank God the residents managed to catch the crocodile, which was about six metres (19 feet) long and 90 centimetres (three feet) wide.

“After the residents cut open the crocodile’s stomach, it was proven that cloth and parts of the body of the victim were found.”

Locals said the river was a common spot to collect shellfish, despite being known to be a crocodile habitat.

Zainur Fauzi, Teluk Dalam police chief, said: “We urge residents to avoid activities around dangerous river areas for the time being until authorities take further action.”

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocs – with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region’s climate.

Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles’ natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.

Widespread tin mining has also caused villagers to encroach on the crocodiles’ natural habitats, pushing the creatures closer toward people’s homes.

With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.

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