Ordeal which saw one man drown
and another fight off reptiles for three hours also a reminder of which boats
are safe to take into crocodile-infested waters
Australian Associated Press
Wednesday 18 May 201604.52 BST
Last modified on Wednesday 18 May
201606.23 BST
An expert says the attack in
which a crocodile overturned a boat in the Northern Territory, killing
one man and a putting another through terrifying ordeal, is an extremely
unusual event.
Noel Ramage, 75, drowned, leaving
his 72-year-old mate to fight off crocodiles for three hours after the men’s
tinny turned over at Leaders Creek, 40km fromDarwin, on Tuesday
afternoon.
The survivor threw spanners and
spark plugs at approaching crocodiles and was trapped in muddy mangroves before
being rescued and taken to hospital suffering shock. He has been released and
the body has been recovered.
Adam Britton, a researcher at
Charles Darwin University, said he’d never heard of such an attack before,
although the crocodile may have been attracted by the men’s crab pots. He
suggested the men could have panicked, causing the boat to capsize.
Britton also said Northern
Territory authorities needed to remind people which boats were safe to
take out into crocodile-infested waters.
“Perhaps one of the precautions that needs to
be added to that list is to be extremely cautious if you take out a small
unstable tinny,” he said.
“Having said that, it is still a
highly bizarre situation and extremely unlikely.
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