A one-year-old boy was eaten alive and his dad seriously injured by a crocodile while they were rowing on a river.
The youngster was snatched from the canoe by the beast while the pair were fishing off the coast of Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysia yesterday morning.
His frantic father tried to fend off the savage reptile but it easily overpowered him.
He scrambled onto the banks with multiple bite wounds, including a large gash on his head.
Villagers rescued his dad, a Palauh tribesman reported to be in his 40s, but the crocodile had already dragged his son into the depths.
It later emerged on the surface with the body of the youngster in its jaws before sinking back into the water with the corpse.
Sumsoa Rashid, head of the Lahad Datu Fire and Rescue Agency, said: "The father suffered serious head and body injuries. His son is still missing and search operations are ongoing.
"The man has been taken to the Lahad Datu Hospital for medical treatment."
The Royal Malaysian Police and marine police have joined the local fire department in their search for the body of the boy.
Officials have also warned villagers living along the stretch of the river to stay out of the water due to the threat of a repeat croc attack.
Sumsoa added: "Many residents there rely on the river for their food and livelihood so they need to go into the water.
"We have warned them of the extra dangers at the moment and to be especially careful because the crocodile is likely to be still in the area."
The Mirror reported on another crocodile attack last month where the remains of a young boy killed by a crocodile while his horrified parents watched were found in the stomach of the beast.
Julio Otero Fernández, 8, was dragged to the depths of Matina River in Limón, Costa Rica, in front of his shocked family as he paddled in the water.
The couple, their five children and Margini’s siblings were visiting the area on a fishing trip when tragedy struck on October 30.
Hair and bones belonging to the child have since been discovered.
One relative said saw the large crocodile attack the boy’s head before he was dragged under the water.
Julio was knee-deep in the river when the huge reptile attacked.
Don Julio Otero and Margini Fernández Flores, his parents, watched in horror as their son was dragged out of sight – never to be seen again.
The victim’s father said: “The hardest thing for my wife was seeing the crocodile float away with my son's body.”
One unnamed eyewitness said: “It shook him (the child) and ripped off his little head.
“Then it grabbed him again and dragged him under.”
