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Danish man survives ‘body slamming’ Aussie croc

A Danish backpacker survived a close encounter with a crocodile after "body slamming" the creature while trying to take a photo of it in Western Australia, a report said.

Published: 6 November 2016 08:25 CET

Danish man survives 'body slamming' Aussie croc

Freshwater crocs or 'freshies' are common in northern Australia. Photo: Kevin Trotman/Flickr

Johnny Bonde, 27, said he was at Lake Kununurra in Australia's tropical north late Friday when he spotted a freshwater crocodile in the water and perched on a bank to take photographs of it, The West Australian reported

Saturday.

“Next thing I know I'm sliding down the bank and then I just toppled over and landed straight on top of the croc. He got a pretty good grip on me and shook me around a bit,” Bonde told the newspaper. “There was just splashing and I could feel a bit of pain in my arm; it wasn't that bad though, I was more shocked than anything.”

A video obtained by the West Australian showed Bonde holding his bloodied right arm above a sink. He was treated in hospital for deep cuts to his arm, the newspaper said.

Bonde said he felt “stupid” and understood why the crocodile, which he estimated was about 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) long, bit him.

“It was the result of me being stupid,” Bonde told Perth's Sunday Times newspaper. “I pretty much body slammed him. If somebody body slammed me at night, I would be angry too.”

Australia is home to two crocodile species — the freshwater and the saltwater. Both are found in northern Australia, with “freshies” growing up to 2.5 metres long while the larger and more feared “salties” can be as big as seven metres long.

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Mystery crocodile sightings captivate central Germany

A helicopter takes part in a search for a crocodile along the Unstrut river in central Germany. Image: DPA

Swimming and fishing were banned and the police were brought in to search after a number of crocodile sightings along the river Umstrut in Thuringia, central Germany.

On Sunday, police and the local fire brigade used a boat equipped with a thermo-imaging camera, a helicopter and a drone to search a 12-kilometre stretch of the river after a number of sightings.

A similar search for a crocodile seen in the river was called off in late August.

Police sent out a warning via an app on Sunday to local residents to tell them about the crocodile, while riverside cycle paths were closed.

The search came to an end late on Sunday evening, with a police spokesperson telling DPA “you couldn’t make any determinations in any way” about the location or the existence of the crocodile.

Authorities closed locks on each side of the river where the crocodile was seen in order to prevent it travelling further.

District fire inspector Jonas Weller told German tabloid Bild “we take the threat very seriously”.

‘Very plausible: I assume the crocodile is there’

Several callers reported sightings of the reptile to the police on Sunday afternoon until early evening.

A horse breeder told police she had seen the crocodile near Schönewerda, around 100 kilometres west of Leipzig, on Sunday.

She said her animals shied away from the two-metre long crocodile, who sat on the river with its mouth open before sliding back into the water.

Fishermen told local media they were certain the animal was a crocodile and n”due to its jagged tail”.

The MDR Thüringen media outlet said police had found “traces” that could have possibly come from the crocodile on Sunday.

Götz Ulrich (CDU), the district administrator, told the MDR “it is very plausible and I assume that the crocodile is actually there”.

A swimming and fishing ban in the region will remain in place in the region.

Animal conservationists also took part in the search.

Weller said that despite the findings, no further searches would be conducted in the coming days. Authorities will meet on Monday to decide how to proceed.

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