PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan: A resident of Sofronio Espanola town in the southern part of Palawan was attacked on Tuesday (April 8) by a crocodile while catching shrimp in Tagumagas River.
The victim was identified by Labog village chief Isaac Arcona as Amado Soliman, 67.
Arcona, in an interview, said Soliman came rushing to his house at 3:30am to seek help after he was attacked by the crocodile at around 1am in the part of the river in Barangay Labog.
Soliman suffered wounds on his left leg and back.
He said the victim told him that while catching shrimp in the waist-deep part of the river, a crocodile suddenly appeared, bit him in his leg, and dragged him to a deeper part of the river.
“He said he managed to fight back by stabbing the crocodile with his knife, after which, the crocodile let him go,” Arcona said.
Arcona then accompanied Soliman to the barangay health centre where he was given first aid and later taken to Espanola District Hospital for additional treatment.
Because of the extent of his injury, however, Soliman was transferred to Leoncio General Hospital in Brooke’s Point town.
Arcona said there have been several sightings of crocodile in the river, prompting him to advise his constituents to be extra careful when going to the area.
He added that a resident survived a crocodile attack in another part of the river sometime in 2022. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
