2008-04-03 12:12:17
Thu Apr 3, 1:34 AM ET
A man rescued his wife from the jaws of a crocodile in remote northern Australia by jumping on its back, police said Thursday.
The woman, 36, suffered leg and hand injuries in the attack late Wednesday in an Outback creek where the couple were swimming, Northern Territory Police spokesman David Wright said. But the 8-foot reptile released the woman and fled when the man jumped on its back. The man was not injured.
"It was real Crocodile Dundee stuff," Wright said, referring to the 1986 movie featuring an Outback hunter who can kill crocodiles with a knife.
The attack happened 100 miles southwest of Darwin, Australia's northernmost city, where the woman was taken to treat wounds that included eight teeth punctures in her thigh. The names of the couple were not released.
"The husband's very swift and diligent actions have saved the day," Royal Darwin Hospital general manager Len Notaros told reporters.
It was the fourth close call involving a crocodile this year in the Northern Territory.
Last week, police opened fire on a crocodile as it closed in on a drunken 27-year-old man who had accepted a dare to swim out to an offshore crocodile trap, and last month a crocodile nearly snatched a 27-year-old Israeli tourist from his boat on a river.
In January, a man rescued his colleague from a crocodile's jaws but accidentally shot the unlucky co-worker in the process.