The tragic story of the two Victorian men who found themselves in crocodile-infested waters near Darwin after a crabbing trip went badly wrong will send a shudder down the spine of many grey nomads.
The pair were attempting to haul crab pots into their tinnie when a crocodile capsized their boat, near Gunn Point, 38 kilometres north-east of Darwin, yesterday afternoon.
One of the men, a 72-year-old, managed to clamber on top of the upturned aluminium boat and threw spanners and spark plugs at the crocodiles to keep them at bay. Sadly, the second man, who was in his 50s, drowned.
Eventually, the older man managed to push the boat into the mangroves and, after an horrific three-hour ordeal, three other crabbers rescued him after hearing his shouts. They also managed to retrieve the body of the drowned man.
The 72-year-old was flown by CareFlight rescue helicopter to Royal Darwin Hospital after being treated at the boat ramp. He was suffering from severe shock and dehydration and exposure.
The man told his rescuers that he thought the crocodile had deliberately capsized their boat.
This is far from the first incident if its kind. In 2014, 62-year-old Bill Scott was standing in his boat when he was taken by a crocodile while on a fishing trip in Kakadu.
An inquest into his death heard that witnesses had seen a bow wave in the water which destabilised Mr Scott as he stood inside the small boat, causing him to stumble before he was attacked and dragged overboard.
At the time, the ABC reported that coroner Greg Cavanagh said there was no regulation around the size, type and strength of ‘pleasure craft’ on waters in the Top End. He recommended warnings be changed to include the message ‘saltwater crocodiles can attack people in boats and the smaller the boat the greater the risk’.
In a statement released after the inquest had concluded, the Scott family said the incident was proof “even careful people are now at risk” of being attacked by crocodiles.
“Territorians can no longer be complacent — even careful people need to step it up a notch,” they said. “The incident and coronial is an opportunity for greater acknowledgement that crocodile populations have increased significantly and that previously unknown hunting behaviours will occur.”
* Comment below.
I’ve been trying to work out ever since I heard about this accident how one could throw sparkplugs and spanners from an upturned tinnie.