Grandpa In East Kotawaringin Striked By A Crocodile While Taking Wudu Water In The Mentaya River

SAMPIT - An old man named Isal (70), a resident of Jaya Karet Village, East Kotawaringin Regency, Central Kalimantan, was struck by a crocodile while fetching water for ablution in the Mentaya River. " said Chandra, a relative of the victim, in Sampit quoted by Antara, Tuesday, June 1. The incident occurred on Monday, May 31, at around 19.00 WIB, when Isal was about to take ablution water in the river to perform the Isha prayer. He headed for the catwalk that led to the river behind the kitchen of his house. When he started to perform ablution, from the water appeared a crocodile which immediately grabbed his left leg. The victim tried to escape from the bite of the wild animal. His efforts were successful. He then rushed up to avoid the aftershocks of the crocodile. As a result of the incident, the victim suffered a laceration to his left thigh. He was forced to get several stitches on the wound. The incident shocked the local residents even though so far the appearance of crocodiles was not a strange thing for them. However, residents are grateful because the victim survived. "If there is another incident like this, people will definitely be more careful when doing activities in the river. Crocodiles do appear often," said Suni, another resident.

The commander of the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) Pos Sampit Muriansyah admitted that he had just received information regarding the incident. His party will go to the scene and visit the victim. "The complete chronology, we haven't got it yet. In the waters of the Mentaya River in Mentaya Hilir Selatan District, generally there is no lanting. There is indeed a footbridge from residents' houses to the river which is usually used for MCK (bathing). , washing and latrine)," he said.

This incident is the second crocodile attack on humans in 2021. Meanwhile, during 2020, data from the Central Kalimantan BKSDA recorded 11 cases of crocodile attacks in East Kotawaringin, although not fatal.

BKSDA appealed to the public to increase vigilance when doing activities in the river, especially during dark days because it is prone to crocodile attacks. High vigilance is needed because the crocodile population in the Mentaya River is estimated to be quite large.