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Rescuer pokes croc in the eye, saves girl
Australian jumped on man-eating reptile that grabbed 11-year-old
Updated: 9:46 a.m. ET April 06, 2004SYDNEY, Australia -
A retired Australian crocodile hunter saved a young girl from the jaws of a 10-foot crocodile when he jumped on top of the man-eating reptile and gouged its eyes, local media said Tuesday.
Eleven-year-old Hannah Thompson was swimming with other children in shallow water behind Ray Turner’s charter boat in Margaret Bay in tropical Queensland state on Monday when the crocodile grabbed her by the arm.
In a scene to rival the cinematic drama of Paul Hogan’s “Crocodile Dundee” or the antics of celebrity crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, Turner threw himself into the water the moment he heard screams and the shout “Crocodile!” from other passengers.
“I landed fair on its back and I got a finger in its left eye — I missed the right eye — but he got a fright and let go,” Turner said.
“They will always let go when when you go for an eye because it’s their vulnerable point and their livelihood,” he was quoted as saying by Australian Associated Press.
Turner said he hunted crocodiles in Papua New Guinea about 30 years ago.
Officials said little Hannah was in a stable condition in hospital and owed her life to Turner’s quick thinking.
“She was taken on board the vessel very, very smartly,” said Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman Mark Read.
“She received lacerations and puncture wounds to her arm, she was provided with medical assistance and then was medivaced to hospital,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
Crocodile attacks often make headlines in Australia. Officials say about a dozen people have been killed by crocodiles in the past 20 years.
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