Boys Arm Bitten By Crocordile

A search is taking place in Australia for a 12-year-old boy who is thought to have been snatched by a crocodile. The child's friend, who is the same age, was bitten on the arm in the attack, police said.

The missing boy was apparently taken as the pair swam with a number of other boys in a water hole.

Police and park rangers are searching for the child by land and boat.

The attack took place at Mudginberri Billabong in the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, southeast of the Northern Territory capital, Darwin.

The species was protected by federal law in 1971. Pic: File

Acting Police Commander Michael White said of the injured child: "One boy, also aged 12, was bitten on the arm by the crocodile and has received medical treatment."

Crocodile numbers have increased sharply across Australia's tropical north since the species was protected by federal law in 1971.

The crocodile population is densest in the Northern Territory, where Kakadu National Park is located, and is promoted as a major tourist attraction.

A 26-year-old man was killed by a 4.7 metre-long (15.5ft) crocodile last August as he swam across the Mary River southeast of Darwin.