Crocodile kills Australian fisherman after falling into river

A 4.9-meter (16-foot) crocodile likely killed an Australian fisherman after he tumbled down a riverbank into a creek, police says on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. According to police, the 40-year-old man was fishing on a riverbank in tropical north Queensland when he “fell into the water and failed to resurface.” Later, the police found human remains in the gut of the reptile caught nearby. INQUIRER STOCK PHOTO

SYDNEY, Australia — A crocodile likely killed an Australian fisherman after he tumbled down a riverbank into a creek, police said Tuesday.

According to police, they found human remains in the gut of a 4.9-meter (16-foot) reptile caught nearby.

The 40-year-old man was fishing on a riverbank in tropical north Queensland when he “fell into the water and failed to resurface,” the police said in a statement, adding that they were told the man had “been taken by a crocodile.”

READ: Aussie croc eats pet dogs, ends up in soup

The fisherman had been casting his line at a secluded spot known among locals as “crocodile bend,” Australian media reported.

Rangers eventually trapped and killed a large crocodile close to where the fisherman had plunged into the water.

Police said they believed they had found the man’s remains inside the beast, and were now working on a formal identification.

READ: Remains of missing Australian man found in crocodiles

In July, a 12-year-old girl was killed by a croc as she was swimming near a remote settlement in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Deadly crocodile attacks are rare but not unheard of in Australia’s northern tropics.

Earlier this year, a saltwater croc was shot, cooked, and eaten after menacing a Northern Territory community.