WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT – Disturbing footage filmed in Indonesia shows a crocodile holding the body of a woman in its mouth after dragging her underwater and killing her
This is the horrific moment a crocodile emerges from a river holding a dead woman in its mouth after dragging her underwater while she was foraging for vegetables.
Tarti Kolengsusu, 43, was gathering water spinach with her friends from the Air Biak River in Indonesia when the huge reptile latched onto her leg on Wednesday morning. As the crocodile dragged her beneath the water, the terrified villager screamed for help.
Distressing footage filmed at the scene shows the woman waving her arms, desperately battling to stay above the water during the terrifying ordeal. At some point, she grabbed her friends’ hands and they tried to pull her back onto the riverbank, but the powerful beast yanked her from their grasp.
Rescuers and residents later arrived at the scene after being notified of the attack. However, they found Tarti already dead in the croc’s jaws. In the clip, the predator seems to be taunting the officers as it swam near land while holding the woman lifeless body.
It continued circling the river, weaving up and down the blue-green surface with the woman’s long hair flowing eerily underwater. According to reports, locals were able to collect Tarti’s body around two hours later, when the crocodile released her.
The local police chief said in a statement: “The victim and her three friends picked water spinach on the other side of the river. An hour later, they were crossing the water to go home when she suddenly shouted. She was screaming ‘help me, I’m in danger!'”
The official said the woman’s body was taken home for a funeral. Indonesia is home to several species of crocodiles and the country sees the most saltwater croc attacks in the world. Over the past decade, there have been more than 1,000 crocodile attacks in the country, with 486 recorded fatalities.
A study published by Biological Conservation in 2023 found that the three provinces with the highest number of attacks are Bangka-Belitung, East Nusa Tenggara. The Alobi Foundation, a wildlife rescue organisation in the city of Pangkalpinang, reported last year that since 2016, over 60 deaths occurred due to crocodile attacks in Bangka – with ten fatalities recorded last year up to November 2024.
The foundation’s founder, Langka Sani, attributed the rise in attacks to habitat destruction as he said: “Compared to 2016, the numbers have increased drastically The conflict (between humans and crocodiles) is worsening because their habitat is being destroyed. This is a ticking time bomb.”
