A CROCODILE killed a young girl in front of her horrified friends while she was out swimming.
Intan Maria Sari, 14, was mauled by the beast in the Indonesian province of Riau.
According to reports, the teen and her friends were washing their clothes in the river before diving in the water to play last Saturday.
Her pals then watched helplessly and rushed to call the adults for help as Maria disappeared underwater.
A search and rescue was swiftly carried out by local police discovered her more than 24 hours later with animal bite marks on her waist.
Maria’s body was found about a kilometre away from where she was last seen, police say.
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Indragiri Hulu Police public relations officer Aipda Misran confirmed the search operation was carried out with a joint team from the Regional Disaster Management Agency, the National SAR Agency, as well as the army and residents.
Describing the version of events, he said: “After washing clothes, the victim soaked in the river. She dived underneath but shouted for help upon surfacing.
“One of her friends saw the victim being attacked by a crocodile.
The police officer added: “Her body was intact, but there were scars that looked like crocodile bite marks on the waist.”
Due to the incident, local officials prohibited villagers from swimming in the river and erected signs regarding the “threat of wild animals.”
The girl’s body was taken for an autopsy before her family was able to retrieve her for a funeral ceremony.
The crocodile that reportedly attacked the girl has not been found.
Inspector Aipda added: “Residents have been warned to avoid rivers as the crocodile is likely to attack again.”
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.
Conservation officials blame habitat degradation due to blast fishing and the conversion of coastal areas into farms for driving the creatures out of the wild and closer to villages.
With 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.
Last October, an eight-year-girl died after she was eaten by a croc on the Indonesian island of Buru.
The reptile responsible was identified as a saltwater crocodile that can grow up to 20ft in length and swallow its victims whole.
Indonesian locals slaughtered 300 crocodiles back in July 2018 in a string of revenge attacks after a man was eaten in West Papau.
In March 2021, a boy, eight, was cut from a croc’s stomach after the 26ft-long beast swallowed him whole – also in Indonesia.
Dimas Mulkan Saputra was dragged into murky water as his dad frantically swam after the huge reptile, say reports.
The boy had been fishing with his father, Subliansyah, when he strayed further from the shore.
Meanwhile, the remains of a fourteen-year-old boy were retrieved from inside a crocodile’s belly after he was eaten alive.
In 2020, Ricky Ganya was last seen collecting snails on a riverbank in Kuching, Malaysia when the croc pounced, clamped its jaws on his ankle and dragged him underwater.
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The boy’s aunt, who witnessed the horrifying attack, called for help and the emergency services arrived.
They then used a chicken as bait to lure the 14ft croc out of the water, about three miles from where the teen was last seen.
