A 15-year-old boy was fatally attacked and decapitated by a crocodile at Lake Tolire in Ternate City, Indonesia, while fishing with his school friends on Aug. 2.
Warning: Distressing content
Farjan Idham was with his friends at the volcanic lake when the crocodile attacked him. The teenager sat on a log just to rest for a while, without noticing that the reptile was trailing him beneath the water. The boy did not have time to react and run away as the predator suddenly jumped out of the water and pulled him.
Idham's classmates tried to save him, but the crocodile's tail was too powerful; it struck them, scaring them even to move near the water. They retreated to the shore and reached out for immediate help.
The search team and rescuers responded to the scene. However, their entire investigation lasted three days despite the boy's body floating in the water. Officials said that the crocodiles roaming near the corpse and the lake's steep cliffs caused the delays. Also, one crocodile kept appearing next to the body and pushing it around the lake.
Fathur Rahman, Ternate Search and Rescue Agency head, said, "The victim's body has not been evacuated even though it has been seen appearing on the surface of the water because it is still being carried by crocodiles into the middle of the lake."
Idham's body was recovered on Aug. 4. His arms had been torn off and his head had been almost cut off from his neck. His remains were taken to a funeral home before being turned over to his family. Meanwhile, the lake has been temporarily closed following the incident. There are reportedly 14 types of crocodiles and four different species in Indonesia.
In early July, a young Indonesian girl was also killed by a crocodile while she was out swimming with her friends. The helpless 14-year-old teenage girl named Intan Maria Sari was mauled by the crocodile in the province of Riau. The victim and her friends were washing their clothes in the river before totally diving in the water to play. Her friends rushed to ask their parents for help as Sari disappeared underwater.
