Search continues for rogue crocodile after Australian woman loses hand in second attack in two days

An elderly Australian woman has had her hand bitten off by a crocodile in a remote area of Western Australia (WA), the second such attack in the state in the past 48 hours.

A 25-year-old WA woman was bitten on the stomach by a freshwater crocodile at a swimming hole in the East Kimberley, in northern WA, on Tuesday.

The first victim, who is reportedly in her 70s, was attacked at the Three Mile Creek in Wyndham, also in the far north of the state, on Wednesday afternoon. The woman suffered the severe injury to her arm and was also bitten on the leg.

Authorities searching for the crocodile briefly managed to locate the reptile but when Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) officers arrived from Kununurra to destroy it, the crocodile could not be found.

A DPaW spokeswoman told the Australian media on Wednesday night that after officers arrived at the scene, the crocodile, believed to be the more dangerous saltwater variety, managed to evade staff who continued the search by "spotlighting" in the water.

The search for the rogue croc continued on Thursday.

The woman was stabilized at Wyndham Hospital and was later flown to Darwin, in the Northern Territory, for further treatment.

In the second attack, local woman Jackie Davies was swimming with a friend and their dogs when the crocodile latched onto her stomach, leaving several puncture wounds.

"I felt something underneath me and a split second later I felt its jaws completely around my waist," she said in an interview with the Seven Network.

DPaW acting district manager for the East Kimberley, Bill Dempsey, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) the crocodile involved was most likely a freshwater species.

"Throughout the Kimberley both freshwater and saltwater crocodiles can inhabit all freshwater waterways," he said.

"There'd be more than one freshwater crocodile right throughout that area. They would generally try to keep out of the way of people...but if they are startled they can inflict injury which is what's happened in this particular case."

Swimmers in WA have been urged to act with caution around swimming holes and creeks as crocodiles can be more aggressive during the upcoming breeding season. Endit