A WOMAN who repeatedly punched a crocodile to save her twin sister from a death roll is the first to get a special gong from the King.
Georgia Laurie, 31, is set to receive the first King’s Gallantry Medal to be given out by Charles’ after fighting off the reptile while on holiday in 2021.
The beast had dragged sister Melissa underwater while the pair were swimming in a Mexican lagoon before Georgia sprung to action.
The twins, from Berkshire, were out swimming during a guided river tour in a lagoon near Puerto Escondido to see glowing bioluminescent water when the crocodile attacked.
Melissa said she noticed the outline of the crocodile’s head above the water and they tried to turn back.
“I knew in that moment we were in trouble. I screamed, ‘S***! It’s a crocodile, we need to turn back immediately!’ My heart rate shot up. I was so scared,” she told the MailOnline.
The crocodile then attacked Melissa and dragged her underwater and began to death roll her throwing her around like a “rag doll”.
Georgia repeatedly punched the crocodile on the nose until it let Melissa go.
But the animal returned and bit Melissa again, leaving Georgia needing to punch the ferocious animal again.
She said: “I had to fight it off, I started bashing it and bashing it with both fists; just thumping it. It felt rock hard, like punching a wall.”
The crocodile then swam away and returned again for another bite at Melissa with Georgia having to continue punching at it.
Georgia said: “It felt like the attack went on for ever. I don’t know how long it went on. I was scared that it would come back and then we would both be dead.”
The crocodile then left for the final time before a rescue boat eventually arrived to rescue the pair.
On board, Melissa vomited up dirty water and bled into the vessel after receiving deep bites to her abdomen, leg, foot, hand, and an open fracture on her wrist.
She later developed sepsis after the wounds became infected and was put into an induced coma.
Melissa made a full recovery from the attack thanks to her Georgia’s bravery – which has been reflected in her winning the King’s Gallantry Medal today.
Georgia said that winning the award was “an honour, I was so shocked as well when I received the letter because I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t expect it.
“I feel really privileged, it’s a silver lining to have come out of the terrible ordeal… it kind of softens the whole traumatic experience.
“It’s been a good thing for not just me but for the whole family, I feel like I have to share it with my sister because let’s face it I don’t think I would have been nominated for it if she didn’t survive.
“What’s made this story so incredible is Melissa’s unwavering bravery throughout it all because she was so strong during it and I don’t think I would be here without her, she really gave me the strength to keep fighting.”
The King’s Gallantry Medal is awarded to civilians for acts of exemplary bravery at a level below that of the George Cross.
The gong is also awarded to military personnel for acts which military honours would not normally be granted such as acts of exemplary bravery not in the presence of the enemy.
The award is judged on its degree of risk, how aware the nominee was of the danger, and their persistence.
The incident must have happened in the last five years and you do not have to be a British citizen to receive it.
The citation for the award states about Melissa’s survival: “That she did so was almost entirely due to the exceptional bravery of her sister, who clearly knew that a dangerous crocodile was in the water but still chose to risk her life to save her sister, showing great persistence in fighting off the attack on multiple occasions.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Solent, older sister Hana previously said her siblings booked the tour through their hostel before adding that the tour guide was not registered – and had taken them to an “unsafe” swimming spot which was not approved.
“He’s an unlicensed tour guide and according to someone on a Mexican Facebook page he’s been doing it for a while, doing illegal tours in unsafe, unregistered areas,” Hana said.
“He’s gone to where the crocodiles live and not the location where all legal certified sanctioned tours take place.
“He has been called out locally before, apparently, but that wasn’t for my sisters to know.
“They found out the information through their hospital.”
By James Beal and Andrea Noel
Shortly after entering the lagoon at 5.30pm, Melissa watched in horror as the croc’s head emerged above the water just 15 metres away.
She said: “I screamed: ‘S**t! It’s a crocodile, we need to turn back immediately.’ I saw its eyes and the shape of its head just above the water and in that moment, I thought, ‘We are in trouble’.
“My heart rate just shot up. It was very hectic at the point.”
The panicked group turned around and tried to swim towards the mangroves.
Melissa — the weakest swimmer of the four — added: “It was just swim, swim, swim.”
But just as she reached a mangrove, the crocodile grabbed her left hand and pulled her under. She revealed: “I was so close to reaching safety.
“Ani had managed to climb on to the mangroves and he bent down and held his hand out to grab mine.
“As I went to grab his hand, my left hand got bitten and I just got dragged underwater.”
Melissa was taken into a death roll — a violent twisting which the reptiles use to wrench limbs out of sockets and kill prey.
She said: “I honestly thought I was about to die. I just remember being shaken around a lot.
“I didn’t feel anything, no pain, but I thought my arm had been ripped off where it had bitten.
“My mind was racing with thoughts, that I’m not going to see my family or Georgia and that she’s going to have to deal with repatriating my body back to the UK.
“I don’t remember ever reaching the surface again so I must have passed out.”
Georgia, who was ahead of Melissa in the water, turned around at the moment Melissa was pulled under.
She told The Sun On Sunday: “I kept swimming and that for me was hard.
“But you think about fight or flight instinct and my instinct was to try to get to safety.
“I had managed to get to the bank on the side but I was clambering trying to find somewhere a little bit more solid to stand.”
Her sister was floating face down in the water, not far from the bank.
Georgia raced back into the water and gently pulled Melissa’s body towards her and lifted her up.
She said: “I was trying to wake her up, shaking her saying, ‘Mel stay with me stay with me’. Her eyes were grey.”
Speaking to Melissa again, she said: “You were blue.”
Regaining consciousness, Melissa began “flailing” her arms around, unsure if she was still being attacked by the crocodile.
Georgia said: “You were screaming an awful lot and I was saying, ‘Calm down, calm down’.
“I was hysterical thinking the crocodile was going to come back. I was worried you were going to drown.”
The crocodile did come back — trying to drag Melissa away three times. Georgia bravely fended it off by beating it with her fists.
Speaking to Melissa, she said: “I started bashing it and bashing it with both fists — just thumping it. It felt rock hard, like punching a wall.
“It grabbed you then tried to deathroll you, and that’s when it bit me. It was really going for it — it would grab you and then bite you again.
“When I realised you weren’t responding, I was thinking, ‘I want to die. I don’t want to live any more’.”
The animal eventually let go and Georgia managed to haul Melissa — who was drifting in and out of consciousness — on to a boat whose crew had heard their screams and come to their rescue.
