Missing grandmother, 59, killed by crocodile in Indonesia

A grandmother who went missing while bathing in a river was found dismembered by a crocodile in Indonesia.

Mak Roy Boru Tumorang, 59, had been washing herself along the riverbanks when the beast attacked and dragged her into the Bilah River in Labuhanbatu, North Sumatra, on October 4 afternoon.

Her family reported to the police when she failed to return home in the evening.

Officers and volunteers scoured the river - a popular bathing place among the locals - but found no sign of the missing woman. However, they claimed to have seen several large crocodiles lurking nearby.

Mustari, Head of the Medan City rescue office, said: 'Based on the information received, the incident began when the victim who disappeared from the riverbank.

'However, unfortunately, it is not known for sure that suddenly the victim had fallen into the river or drifted away. At the time of the incident, witnesses saw two crocodiles around the location, so there is a strong suspicion that the victim was pounced on by a crocodile.'

Rescue teams continued the search on October 5. They found Mak Roy's mangled body drifting some 500 metres downstream from where she had vanished at around 6:40 pm.

The corpse was reportedly missing both arms and a right leg. The stomach was said to have been split open with intestines spilling out.

Mak Roy's body was taken to the Negerilama Health Centre for a post-mortem exam. She had worked as a teacher at a local elementary school before her death.

Bilah Hilir Labuhanbatu sub-district officials have warned locals to be careful and vigilant when bathing in the river.

On September 15, Indonesian fisherman Andika Saputra, 21, was eaten by a crocodile while collecting shellfish from a river in Riau province. He was found four days later with the lower half of his body missing.

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.