Crocodile Attack: Diver pulls his head out of his mouth himself

Australia
He freed his head from his mouth himself: diver survived crocodile attack

An Australian was surprised by a crocodile while diving. His head was already in his mouth, but he was able to free himself with his own strength.

Marcus McGowan almost didn’t survive a diving trip off Haggerstone Island in northern Australia. The 51-year-old Australian was in the water with his wife and some friends when he suddenly felt a bite from behind. At first he thought it was a shark attack, but then realized that the attacker was a crocodile.

The animal snapped and grabbed McGowan’s head. A potentially life-threatening trap, after all, crocodiles are considered the animals with the most powerful bite in the world. But the Australian was able to free himself from it on his own. “I was able to open his jaw just enough to get my head out,” he said in a statement released by the hospital in Queensland, Australia, after the incident.

Crocodile bites diver’s hand

However, after McGowan himself pulled his head out of the crocodile’s mouth, the dangerous situation was not over – the animal attacked a second time. The diver pushed the crocodile away with his right hand but was bitten. “I managed to outrun the crocodile again and swim to the lifeboat that came after they heard our cries for help,” he said.

Everything happened so fast that he couldn’t remember the exact size of the crocodile. But he suspects that it is a young animal. These are usually two to three meters in length. With a full-grown crocodile (four to five meters), the attack might not have ended so lightly. On land, McGowan was bandaged, given a shot of antibiotics to prevent infection, and then rushed to hospital by helicopter. Describing himself as “an avid surfer and scuba diver,” McGowan says, “I’m aware that in the ocean you’re entering an area that belongs to potentially dangerous animals like sharks and crocodiles. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The Queensland Department of the Environment warned that crocodiles could be found in any body of water, even where there are no warning signs. The area has already seen a number of crocodile attacks this year. So, in early May, the remains of a fisherman were found in two crocodiles.

Sources: Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service / “Guardians”

Watch the video: David McMahon is stooping for a seashell on a remote stretch of coast when he spots the large predator. To show how one should behave in such a situation, the crocodile expert films the encounter with his cell phone.