The crocodile was caught after killing the woman(Image: ViralPress)

Crocodile surfaces with body of mum in its jaws after killing her in haunting 'death roll'

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT. Nurhawati Zihura, 46, was pounced on by a massive 13 feet crocodile in Indonesia and was later seen by locals in the mouth of the predator

by · The Mirror

Locals were left horrified after a killer crocodile was seen surfacing with the body of a housewife in its jaws after they heard screaming before the animal put the woman in a 'death roll'

Nurhawati Zihura, 46, was washing her feet in the seawater next to her coastal village in North Sumatra, Indonesia, when she pounced on by the 13 feet reptile. Shocked locals heard her screams but could only watch as the beast thrashed her body in a haunting death roll to disorientate her.

The crocodile then dragged away the mother-of-four as she disappeared below the surface close to the Deaa Orahili Beach in the Pulau-Pulau Batu district of South Nias Regency. And a few hours later the predator was seen again as it emerged from the water clutching the woman's body in its jaws.

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The 13 feet crocodile pictured( Image: ViralPress)
Nurhawati Zihura tragically died( Image: ViralPress)

Images show how locals threw dead chickens into the water to distract the crocodile and make it release the body. CPR was attempted on Ms Zihura but she could not be saved. The crocodile was later caught and shot dead by worried locals.

Resident Agustinus, 40, said: "I saw the crocodile attacking Nurhawati on the surface of the water. We shouted but it would not release her. It was a terrible sight, worse than any of the scenes of hell. Her blood was spilling into the water.

"Later on, the crocodile appeared with her body in its mouth. We went out in boats and fed chicken to crocodile, so it would eat that instead of her." Fendi, one of victim's relatives, said she had ventured into the shallows to wash her feet as she had been feeling unwell.

He added: "She wanted to bathe in the seawater to clean her feet. She thought it would help her feel better. Many people bathe in the sea and we think that if we stay close to the shore we will be safe. Now the crocodiles are more dangerous than before." Residents pulled Nurhawati onto a boat and took her ashore where she was pronounced dead. A funeral service was held that evening.

An image of the crocodile as it was caught( Image: ViralPress)
Crocodiles are becoming an increasing problem in the area( Image: ViralPress)

Local police and soldiers continued searching for the crocodile and it was dragged ashore in the afternoon before being shot. Officials are now calling for the government to take action to prevent further crocodile attacks.

Kornelius Wau, the Head of Pulau-Pulau Batu Sub-district, said: "I have asked the North Sumatra Provincial Government through the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) to take real action. Many of these wild animals are still roaming the coast of Tello Island. I am worried that if this problem is not addressed, it will become a serious threat to the residents there where the majority of residents' settlements are on the coast and their livelihoods are at sea.

The crocodile seen in the water( Image: ViralPress)

"There are other wild crocodiles still roaming the coast of Tello Island and its surroundings. More than 80 per cent of our residents make their living at sea and even most of our residents' settlements are on the coast. They often bathe in the sea, so this is a threat to us and until it is solved, will we live in a frightening situation."

Indonesia has registered the most crocodile attacks in the world. There were at least 1,000 incidents over the past decade - though many more are believed to have been unreported - resulting in more than 450 fatalities, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The archipelago is home to 14 types of crocodiles - 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.