Tragic, A Sibling In Agam, West Sumatra, Sees Her Sister Being Pounced On, Dragged By Estuary Crocodile To The Bottom Of The River

Residents are trying to find victims at the location of the river where the elementary school student bathed. (Between/Doc)

AGAM - A resident of Plasma, Jorong Padang Madani, Lubukbasung District, Agam Regency, West Sumatra, is suspected of being attacked by an estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) while bathing in the Batang Masang River on Monday at around 06.30 a.m. local time.

The guardian of Jorong Padang Madani, Mustaman, said residents were still looking for the victim, who had just been in grade 3 of the local elementary school. "Residents are still searching for the victim along the river," he said in Lubukbasung, Agam Regency, Antara, Monday, January 17.

The incident began when the victim and her sister, Neli (16) were taking a morning shower to go to school on the Batang Masang River, 50 meters from their house.

While bathing, the victim was pounced on and carried by a crocodile into the middle of the river. The victim's sister grabbed the victim's hand. But Neli was unable to save her sister.

"Unable to save the victim, her sister immediately screamed hysterically and I went straight to the location, because my house is quite close and I was able to go to the location immediately," he said.

He admitted that he had seen the crocodile, which was black, about four meters long and 30-40 centimeters wide at the bottom of the victim's bathing location. A few minutes after that, the crocodile has not been seen to appear until now.

Wali Nagari Manggopoh Ridwan added that his party had reported the incident to the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Agam Natural Resources Conservation Resort (KSDA) and the Agam Police.

"The team is heading to the location to find the whereabouts of the victim," he said.

The Head of the Agam Natural Resources Conservation Center Resort (KSDA), Ade Putra, added that his party was preparing to handle and was picking up equipment that previously handled human-tiger conflicts in Salareh Aia, Palembayan District.

The first step will be to seek the victim's body along with other related teams. Furthermore, field identification will be carried out to determine the factors causing the incident and other handling efforts.

"We are sorry for the incident that happened to the victim, and urge other residents to be careful when doing activities in the river and its surroundings," he said.

He added that the Batang Masang River is one of the habitats for estuarine crocodiles besides the Batang Antokan river. Habitat narrowing, especially in the estuary, has caused estuarine crocodiles to spread to the upper reaches of the river and its tributaries.