A CROCODILE has snatched a schoolboy and mauled him to death in front of his terrified friends.
The 14-year-old Indonesian boy was doing laundry in a river when the beast pounced from the murky waters.
Muhammad Rafli Hamzah, 14, tragically died from a crocodile attackCredit: ViralPress
His horrified friends and younger sibling watched as the schoolboy tried to struggle free before being dragged from the riverbank and disappearing into the depthsCredit: ViralPress
Sadly, Muhammad Rafli Hamzah’s friends and younger sibling watched as he tried to struggle free.
He was dragged from the riverbank and disappeared into the depths.
A frantic search was launched on Monday, with relatives and rescue volunteers scouring the river.
They searched for hours before spotting Rafli’s lifeless body floating in the water.
A spokesperson for the search said upon arrival at the river in South Konawe Regency, South Sulawesi, the team conducted a search along the river using several boats, including those owned by local fishermen.
Ipda Alimudin Latif, Kolono Police Chief, said the body was recovered some 200 metres from where the attack occurred.
“There were many bite wounds,” he said.
“He was recovered by a joint SAR and Fire Department team.
“We urge the public to increase their vigilance so that incidents like this do not happen again.”
The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocodiles, 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.
It follows another tragic death of a young boy who was .
Rafli was reportedly mauled to death by a crocodile while washing clothes in a river in Indonesia yesterdayCredit: ViralPress
Last month, a 10-year-old boy Affan was attacked and killed by a crocodileCredit: ViralPress
Affan, 10, and his friends were cooling off in the Inggoi River in North Maluku in December when the beast gnawed at his torso and dragged him beneath the murky depths.
His two pals frantically waded out of the river on Tuesday afternoon and raced back to the village to alert authorities – they were too late.
Affan tragically passed away after the brutal onslaught.
Horrifying footage, which The Sun has chosen not to release, shows the leviathan croc carrying the boy in its jaws in front of horrified locals.
The monster can be seen diving deeper under the surface, attempting to drown the child.
Hendra Gunawan, South Halmahera Police Chief, said the area was a known crocodile hotspot.
He said: “Crocodiles still often appear there. The locals say they’re swamp crocodiles.”
A joint search team of police, soldiers, and rescue volunteers set out to scour the waters, taking extra care amid fears of more chilling crocodile attacks.
Search efforts continued until early morning on Thursday, December 18, when the crocodile resurfaced near a pier in the middle of the village.
The deadly beast which killed Affan was pictured in IndonesiaCredit: ViralPress
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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