A wildlife worker has d!ed a day after suffering a crocodile attack at a wildlife park in Papua New Guinea.
The man, whose name has not been revealed, was within a crocodile enclosure at Adventure Park in Port Moresby when the incident occurred on Saturday, September 5.
He was transported to 3 Mile General Hospital for treatment, but tragically succumbed to his injuries at around 7am on Sunday, September 6.
Harrowing video footage that spread across social media shows the moment the worker was clinging to the pool’s edge while bystanders attempted to help him.
The crocodile seemed to have its jaws locked around the man’s legs, while someone reached a pole towards him through the enclosure’s fencing.
Another person then appeared to support the worker from the pool’s side as onlookers gathered around the enclosure.
Eyewitness Gibson John told the ABC the man was attacked while attempting to feed the crocodile.
“He brought the chicken to the fence and the crocodile attacked the person and tried to bring him into the pool,” Mr John said.
“We couldn’t assist at that time, [but] I managed to contact the St John’s Ambulance.”
Mr John said the crocodile held the man’s legs in its jaws for over an hour before emergency services arrived.
“The security guards had no guns, but gave him a small iron rod to use until the police and St John’s Ambulance came,” he said.
“He was in severe pain but he couldn’t scream.
“He couldn’t speak properly at that time. It was the pain I could see from his eyes.
“The only thing I could hear him say was, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong’.”
Mr John disclosed that he later learned the man, originally from the Western Islands in northern Papua New Guinea, had lost a leg before being hurried to hospital.
“I’ve never seen something like this before. I couldn’t believe what I saw,” he expressed.
It’s believed that the handler had been working at the park for around two years.
The park has now been indefinitely closed, while colleagues who witnessed the horrific incident are said to be gathering at a funeral home following the worker’s heartbreaking demise.
See video below.