A 12 year-old girl was killed by a crocodile

Police uncovered the body of a missing 12-year-old girl who was suspected to have been attacked by a crocodile.

The girl was reported missing on Tuesday evening local time after swimming in Mango Creek, a river in Australia’s Northern Territory, around 220 miles southwest of Darwin.

The girl’s corpse showed injuries consistent with a crocodile attack, police said local media.

“It was particularly gruesome, with a sad and devastating outcome,” Northern Territory Police Senior Sergeant Erica Gibson told ABC. For the family, it is the most devastating outcome possible for them. They are in a state of extreme shock and disbelief.”

The girl’s body was discovered on the creek’s banks on Thursday morning. Her T-shirt had been found late the night before.

A black crocodile was spotted about the same time as the girl and her family were swimming in the river.

The tragedy happened within a few miles from the secluded Aboriginal community of Nganmarriyanga. Local police were assisted by 30 to 40 members of the local community in their hunt for the missing girl along the riverbanks, as well as boats and a helicopter looking for any signs of her from above.

The Northern Territory is home to around 100,000 crocodiles, accounting for half of Australia’s total crocodile population. The territory is home to both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles, however saltwater crocodiles are significantly more deadly due to their large size. Males can grow up to 23 feet in length, with some exceeding that limit. They can live in both saltwater and freshwater environments and can be found in rivers, estuaries, swamps, and coastal areas throughout northern and eastern Australia, as well as southeast Asia, south Asia, and many Pacific Islands.

Every year, it is estimated that saltwater crocodiles kill over 1,000 people globally. Saltwater crocodile attacks on people are uncommon in Australia, with around one to two fatalities each year, according to data given by the Australian government in 2017.

The girl’s death marks the first fatal crocodile attack in the Northern Territory since 2018, however a teenage boy was murdered by a crocodile in Queensland earlier this year. Other attacks have occurred in the Northern Territory recently, with a 9-year-old kid left in critical condition in January following an encounter with a crocodile.

Local police want to catch the crocodile that attacked the young girl by placing crocodile traps along the stream.

“It is a salient reminder to everyone that waterways in the territory could always have crocodiles in them,” Mr. Gibson said.

(Source: Newsweek)