A TOURIST has been attacked by a crocodile in front of his family in Far North Queensland, Australia and is feared to be dead.
The 40-year-old man was dragged underwater in front of his “traumatised” wife and children, authorities report.
The New South Wales family were reportedly on a caravan road trip when the man went missing near the Annan River Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
The man and his family were fishing on a riverbank when he fell into the water and didn’t resurface.
A large crocodile known to visit the area, which is dubbed ‘Crocodile Bend’, had recently been spotted.
Speaking to reporters today, Senior Sergeant Greg Finucane said: “It was a large crocodile, according to witnesses.
“Condolences go to the family, who are obviously very traumatised at the moment.”
Cops reportedly declined to comment on speculation that people had been feeding crocodiles in the vicinity.
Authorities intend to capture the crocodile which hasn’t been spotted since the man disappeared underwater.
The search for the man is expected to continue into Sunday night and Monday but has had difficult conditions.
Sergeant Finucane continued: “It’s basically a search and rescue mission.
“We’ve been patrolling the river bank. It’s quite a large area, approximately 5km of waterway.
“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.”
Experts had reportedly recently taken drone footage of a crocodile at the spot and is estimated to be a whopping 4.8m long.
A local told the Cairns Post: “People throw roadkill in for it to eat and he could have been sitting there 15ft under the water waiting for a feed.
“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.”
Crocodile Bond is renowned to be a crocodile activity hotspot.
Visitors have been urged by locals to find a safer spot to fish, warning the steep banks make it difficult to escape a potential crocodile ambush.
