Man, 51, eaten alive by a crocodile as he bathes in an Indonesian river 

Horrifying moment man, 51, is eaten alive by a crocodile as he bathes in an Indonesian river while his friends desperately try to scare the predator off

The 51-year-old man, named only as Luther, was bathing in the Bebatu river

He was attacked by the 13ft-long crocodile on February 15 in front of friends
A search to find the body of the father was carried out by the local authorities

A father was dragged underwater and eaten by a crocodile in a horrific attack in Indonesia.

The 51-year-old man, named only as Luther, was bathing in the water after gathering palm leaves by the Bebatu river in the North Kalimantan province, when the 13ft-long crocodile attacked him on February 15.

The father tried to fight off the crocodile but was dragged underwater as his friends helplessly tried to scare the animal away.

The incident was reported to the authorities who searched the area without success.

Luther was reportedly last seen by a local - who was able to record the incident - on February 16.

Footage filmed by the local later showed the crocodile dragging what appeared to be a screaming man.

In the video, the man could be heard saying: 'This is where a person was attacked by a crocodile but have not yet been found until now. We are making a video here.'

However when the filmer saw the crocodile appear again with the man, who was struggling to fight it, he said: 'Oh my God the crocodile ate the man.'

Village head Mahmuda said the incident was immediately reported to rescuers who launched a search operation for the man.

He said: 'It really happened here. The victim's name was Luther.

'Incidents of people being attacked by crocodiles in the canal also happened before.' 

Plantation officials have now placed notice boards in the village warning locals not to get close to the canal.



The boards read: 'No activity in this area, it's dangerous. There's a crocodile.'

The search and rescue mission was carried out by the army and police.

Lieutenant Colonel Tri Prio Utomo of the Tana Tidung Military District said: 'We are constrained by the location where there are lots of bushes, branching canals, and inadequate equipment but our team will try our best to find the victim.

'We urge everyone not to come near the canal so please obey the signs to avoid these incidents from happening.'