Woman jumps on crocodile to save man

Link : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041011/80/f4b59.html



SYDNEY (Reuters) - A 60-year-old woman jumped on the back of a crocodile as it dragged a man from his tent in northern Australia, but was then attacked by the crocodile, which dragged her towards the ocean until it was shot dead.


The 60-year-old woman and 34-year-old man suffered broken limbs, cuts and bruises in the attack by the 4.2 metre (12.6 feet) crocodile, said wildlife and rescue officials.


The attack occured around 4 a.m. (7 p.m. on Sunday British time) as the man slept in a tent with his wife and child on the shores of Bathurst Bay, 300 km (186 miles) north of Cairns in Queensland state.


"The crocodile walked into the tent and dragged the man out," said Stephen Pemberthy from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which airlifted the injured campers to hospital.


"A 60-year-old woman in an adjacent tent heard the commotion and jumped on the crocodile," Pemberthy told Reuters on Monday.


The crocodile let go of the man and bit the woman, pulling her towards the water before another person shot it dead.


The injured campers managed to set off a rescue beacon, capturing the attention of government wildlife officials in the area who were eradicating wild pigs.


The wildlife officials evacuated the campers to a nearby ranger station at Lakefield National Park and the Royal Flying Doctor Service flew them to a hospital in Cairns.


The man suffered a broken leg and arm and cuts and bruises, while the woman had an arm broken in the attack.