10-Year Old Boy Killed After Being Snatched From Boat By Crocodile In Front Of Siblings

A young boy was killed after being snatched from a boat by a saltwater crocodile in the southern Philippines in front of his horrified siblings.

The 10-year-old was on board the small wooden boat with his two older siblings near the town of Balabac when he was yanked into the water.

His father was unable to find him after an overnight search, but a fisherman discovered the child’s half-eaten remains late Monday in a mangrove swamp, a police report said.

The Daily Mail reports:

The Philippines’ booming development and population have steadily invaded the creatures’ habitat, forcing them into ever-smaller stretches of swamp and causing repeated attacks, authorities said. 

Humans and crocodiles sharing the same space has resulted in multiple run-ins, in which people have been killed or maimed by the semiaquatic animals.

In February a crocodile grabbed a 12-year-old boy as he swam at a Balabac river, but he escaped when his siblings hit the reptile’s head with oars until it let him go, Pabello said.

A Balabac crab fisherman was killed and half-eaten by a saltwater crocodile in February last year, police said, three 

months after his 12-year-old niece was dragged away by a crocodile in late 2017.

The girl was never seen again.

If you are in the Philippines area, please be careful. Be aware of your surroundings in swampy areas.