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A ranger was killed Friday by a crocodile in the Northern Territory of Australia while he was collecting mussels with his family in a waterhole, police said.
The indigenous woman was attacked in an isolated area 206 kilometers southwest of the Yirrkala community, said NT WorkSafe. The job security watchdog said he was investigating.
Her body was found a few hours later, less than one kilometer from the crocodile who reportedly took her, said Northern Territory Police Commander Tony Fuller. Local forest rangers killed the crocodile.
"She was with the band … and the band noticed her disappearance," Fuller told Australian Broadcasting Corp. "They heard splashes, the bucket she was carrying was found nearby."
Fuller said that the woman was in the water up to the waist when she was caught, and if she was working as a gamekeeper for wildlife at the time would be part of the. police investigation.
The latest deadly attack on a crocodile in Australia dates back to last October when a 79-year-old dementia patient was killed after wandering in a retirement home in Port Douglas, Queensland state.
Crocodiles have been a protected species in Australia since the 1970s, resulting in an explosion of their population in the tropical north of the country. As saltwater crocodiles can live up to 70 years and grow throughout their life – up to 7 meters (23 feet) long – the proportion of large crocodiles also increases.
