Aussie survives croc attack

Aussie survives croc attack

Associated Press, Canberra

An Australian teenager narrowly escaped death when a large
saltwater crocodile clamped his arm and surfboard in its jaws and
attempted a death roll in a murky creek in the Indonesian
province of Irian Jaya, his father said on Wednesday.

Matthew Goodall, the son of Australian missionaries, had
paddled his surfboard halfway across a creek on the way to a
beach with friends on Saturday near the town of Jayapura in north
Irian Jaya when the reptile attacked, father David Goodall said.

"He saw this black thing come up in the water and grab his arm
and surfboard at the same time," Goodall told Australian media by
phone from Irian Jaya on Wednesday. "It clamped its jaws shut."

Matthew's friends said they thought the animal was about 3.5
meters (11.5 feet) long.

"As soon as the thing grabbed him it started twisting him, and
he ended up on top of the crocodile for a while, with the croc
beneath his legs, then he realized his arm was free and took off
as quickly as he could," said Goodall.

Once crocodiles seize their prey they roll over and over,
disorienting the prey until it drowns or dies of blood loss, the
so-called death roll.

Goodall said Matthew had some teeth marks in his arms and his
board was "all champed up."

"We're very thankful he's still alive ... we saw the size of
the teeth and realized it wasn't a freshwater crocodile, it was a
big saltwater crocodile," he said.

Goodall said villagers have since told him the crocodile that
attacked Matthew is believed to have killed five people.

"That makes us realize even more how lucky we are," he said.