Indonesian fisherman's body found eaten by river crocodile after four days of searching

An Indonesian fisherman eaten by a crocodile was found in a river after four days of searching.

Andika Saputra, 21, was collecting snails to eat with his friends along the banks of the Cantik River in Riau province, Indonesia, on the morning of September 15.

He and his friend Firmanyah, 20, were crossing the water when the river beast reportedly sank its teeth into his leg.

Firmanyah said he tried to help Andika by extending a branch for him to grab onto but the powerful predator mercilessly dragged the angler under the surface.

Tanah Merah Police Chief Iptu Edy Saputra said: ‘We received a report about this incident on September 15 at around 8pm from the chief of Tanjung Pasir village.

'Then, we questioned the witnesses and, together with the community and Koramil 02 Tanah Merah and Kuala Enok POSAL personnel, conducted a search.'

Rescue teams scoured the murky waters for the missing villager, but they failed to find him.

His decaying corpse was finally found by another fisherman named Ramli at around 7am today September 19.

Inhil Police Chief AKBP Budi Setiawan said: 'The victim's body was floating in the middle of Parit Podek ditch. It was spotted by a fisherman named Ramli while he was nearby looking for wood. The discovery was immediately reported to the residents of Tanjung Pasir Village.'

Andika's family confirmed that he was the deceased. Police said his body was no longer intact and 'the stomach to feet were missing'.

Relatives have declined to have the body undergo a post-mortem examination.

Ambrun, head of the Sungai Rumah village, urged the regional government to address the crocodile attacks.

He said: 'On behalf of the village council, we hope that the government can find a solution to this problem as there is an overcapacity of crocodiles in our village. If left unaddressed, there may be more victims.'

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocs - with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region's climate.

Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles' natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.

With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.

On September 11, villager Irfan Rotinga was fishing for dinner at the Simangalam River in North Sumatra when he was attacked by a crocodile that clamped its jaws on his leg.

He survived its brutal death spins by holding onto his friend Irna, 31, who engaged the ferocious reptile in a fierce tug of war.

On August 20, grandmother Halima Rahakbauw, 54, was dismembered by a crocodile while washing pots in the Wali River in Maluku, Indonesia.

While on August 29, villager M Yunus, 68, was torn in half in a croc attack while bathing in the Peureulak River in Aceh province.