Elderly man in Malaka, NTT, found dead, believed to have been attacked by a crocodile

An elderly man named Simon Yosep Seran (70) was found dead in a tragic state at the Rainain A village river mouth, Kletek village, Central Malaka sub-district, Malaka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Thursday (26/2/2026). Simon is suspected to have been attacked by a crocodile.

“Yes, it is suspected that he was a victim of a crocodile attack,” said the Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Malaka Police, Iptu Dominggus Duran, to detikBali, Thursday.

Dominggus explained that the victim’s body was initially found by family members along with a number of residents around the location. At that time, the condition of his body was no longer intact. The body was then evacuated to his house to be laid in state.

“When found, the victim was dead and his body was no longer intact,” Dominggus said.

According to Dominggus, Simon was previously reported missing on Tuesday (24/2/2026), while he was near the Rainain A village river mouth. At that time, he was allegedly attacked by a crocodile while carrying out activities around the location.

Because he did not return home, the family carried out a search and reported the incident to the Malaka Police. The police and residents then searched around the river mouth and along the river until the victim was finally found this afternoon.

“The family accepted the incident as an accident and refused an autopsy,” Dominggus concluded.