The body of a 26-year-old man and the five-metre crocodile that killed him have been recovered from a crocodile-infested river in Australia's Northern Territory. Sean Cole, a Darwin resident, was snatched while swimming at Mary River Wilderness Retreat on Saturday afternoon.
Cole was celebrating a friend's 30th birthday when he and a companion decided to swim across a 180-metre-wide stretch of river. While his friend made it safely back to shore, Cole was taken by a crocodile. Witnesses in a boat saw what initially appeared to be multiple swimmers, but one was a crocodile making a bow wave as it homed in on the last person.
Police recovered Cole's body around 5.30am on Monday, just 200 metres from where the attack occurred. The crocodile believed responsible also surfaced and was shot during the operation. Parks and Wildlife ranger Tom Nichols stated that the area downstream has the highest concentration of saltwater crocodiles in the world.
An employee at the retreat confirmed that Cole and his friend had ignored warnings not to enter the water. Nichols described the incident as a tragic outcome of a foolish decision. The search involved multiple agencies, including Water Police and Parks and Wildlife.
