Horrific moment crocodile emerges with mother of four in its jaws after dragging her to death ‘worse than any scene in hell’

This is the chilling moment a crocodile emerged from the water with a woman’s body in its jaws.

The 13-metre-long reptile pounced on mother-of-four Nurhawati Zihura, 46, as she washed her feet in the seawater next to her coastal town in North Sumatra, Indonesia, this morning.

Shocked locals heard her screams but could only watch as the beast smashed her body into a terrifying ‘death scroll’ to disorient her.

The crocodile then dragged the housewife as she disappeared beneath the surface near Deaa Orahili Beach in Pulau-Pulau Batu District of South Nias Regency.

Shockingly, the animal emerged about an hour later with Nurhawati’s lifeless body in its jaws.

Footage shows locals throwing dead chickens into the water to distract the deadly crocodile and release the body.

Resident Agustinus, 40, said: ‘I saw the crocodile attacking Nurhawati on the water surface. We screamed, but it didn’t let her go. It was a terrible sight, worse than any scene in hell. Her blood flowed into the water.

‘Later the crocodile appeared with her body in its mouth. We went out in boats and fed the chicken to the crocodile so that it would eat it instead of her.’

46-year-old Nurhawati Zihura was washing her feet in the seawater next to her coastal town in North Sumatra, Indonesia, when the animal attacked her

Shocked locals heard the mother’s screams but could only watch as the beast beat her body into a terrifying ‘death roll’ to disorient her

Fendi, one of Nurhawati’s relatives, said she had ventured into the shallow water to wash her feet because she felt unwell.

He added: ‘She wanted to bathe in the sea water to clean her feet. She thought it would help her feel better.

‘Many people bathe in the sea and we think we will be safe if we stay close to the coast. Now the crocodiles are more dangerous than before.”

Residents eventually managed to pull Nurhawati onto a boat and brought her ashore, where she was pronounced dead. A funeral service was held in the evening.

Local police and soldiers continued to search for the crocodile and it was dragged ashore in the afternoon. A police officer shot the animal dead.

Officials are now calling on the government to take action to prevent further crocodile attacks.

Kornelius Wau, head of Pulau-Pulau Batu sub-district, said: “I, through the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), have asked the provincial government of North Sumatra to take real action.

“Many of these wild animals still roam the coast of Tello Island.

The crocodile then dragged the woman away as she disappeared beneath the surface near Deaa Orahili Beach in Pulau-Pulau Batu District of South Nias Regency.

Shockingly, the animal emerged about two hours later with Nurhawati’s lifeless body in its jaws

The crocodile was later captured and shot dead by concerned locals

“I fear that if this problem is not addressed, it will become a serious threat to the residents there.

‘Where most of the residents’ settlements are on the coast and their livelihood is at sea.

“There are other wild crocodiles still roaming the coast of Tello Island and the surrounding area.

‘More than 80 percent of our residents live at sea and even most of our residents’ settlements are on the coast.

“They often bathe in the sea, so this is a threat to us and until it is resolved, we will live in a frightening situation.”

Indonesia has the most crocodile attacks in the world.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), at least 1,000 incidents have occurred in the past decade – although many more are believed to have gone unreported – resulting in more than 450 fatalities.

The archipelago is home to 14 species of crocodiles – with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that thrive in the region’s climate.

Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland, closer to villages, due to overfishing, which is reducing the crocodiles’ natural food supply, combined with habitat loss due to the development of coastal areas into farms.

As uneducated locals in the developing country still use rivers for swimming and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to an increasing number of crocodile attacks.