Croc attack victim's body found without hands in Tawau

Firemen taking out the body of a victim of crocodile attack at a river in Sabah's sourthwestern Tawau district on Saturday.

KOTA KINABALU: The body of a man who was missing since Friday (July 3) following an attack by a crocodile at Kg Sungai Kalabakan in Tawau was found without both hands on Saturday (July 4).

The victim, Sukrien Yusoff, 24, was found at 11.05am by villagers about 2km downstream from where he was reportedly attacked by a crocodile around 1.45pm.

Tawau Fire and Rescue Department station officer Zulbadar Alior confirmed that both the victim’s hands were missing in the suspected crocodile attack about 90km from Tawau on Sabah's east coast.

He said the two-day search and rescue operation involved firemen, Rela personnel, wildlife rangers and villagers, including nine rescue boats.

Sukrien, who was believed to have been swimming in the river, was reported missing on Friday afternoon.

His body has been handed over to police to facilitate further investigations.

This is the second recent crocodile attack incident in the Kalabakan area. A woman in her 50s was killed in an attack at Kampung Sungai Tuda on June 25.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said there were a total of six deaths, not including the latest, involving crocodile attacks in the state this year.

He said there were two cases each in Lahad Datu and Tawau, and one each in Kinabatangan and Sandakan.

Tuuga said the department had captured two crocodiles by trapping in the west coast of the state, three were trapped in Tawau, two in Kinabatangan and two were shot in Lahad Datu so far this year.

Some of the nine crocodiles trapped or shot were suspected to be involved in attacks on humans.