A mother and her son were mauled to death by the same aggressive crocodile in Indonesia, as authorities continue searching for the woman's remains. Alvina Doki, 64, was washing clothes in the Ledewero River on Wednesday afternoon when the reptile suddenly surfaced from the murky waters and dragged her under in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Her husband, Gabriel Sinyo, 60, said he turned around after hearing an unusual splashing noise, only to see his wife trapped in the crocodile's jaws. In a desperate bid to save his wife, threw rocks at the crocodile, which he scooped up from the riverbank, but it continued dragging Alvina away into the deeper waters.
Son Killed in Search of Mother
The family alerted local authorities, prompting the dispatch of a search team to the location. Henry Novika Chandra, the regional police commissioner, confirmed on Wednesday, "The victim was attacked by a crocodile while washing clothes in the river."
"Currently, her body has not been found. Our members together with the local community are still continuing the search. Hopefully the victim's body will be found soon."
Volunteers and villagers, including Alvina's 35-year-old son, Wilsilius Lomi, continued to search the river that evening.
However, the deadly crocodile returned that night, striking again. This time it attacked attacked Wilsilius after he had separated from the group in an attempt to cover more ground.
Witnesses were horrified as the crocodile snapped up the young man, pulling him underwater. His body was found floating in the river the next morning.
Assistant Police Commissioner Yusuf Tarapadjang confirmed, "We found Wilsilius' body about 500 meters from where he was attacked. His body had a number of claw and tear wounds. The body was intact, there were only wounds on the legs and stomach from being attacked by the crocodile."
The young man's body was taken back to his home for burial, while authorities continued their search for Alvina's remains.
The Claws of the Monster
This tragic incident adds to a series of recent crocodile attacks in Indonesia. In December, a 13-foot crocodile attacked 46-year-old mother-of-four Nurhawati Zihura while she was washing her feet by the sea near her village in North Sumatra.
Nearby residents heard her cries for help but were helpless as the crocodile violently twisted her body in a "death roll," disorienting her before dragging her underwater near Deaa Orahili Beach in South Nias Regency.
About an hour later, the crocodile reappeared, gripping Nurhawati's lifeless body in its jaws.
In an attempt to divert the dangerous creature, locals threw dead chickens into the water to encourage it to release the body.
Indonesia's archipelago is home to 14 species of crocodiles, including large and aggressive estuarine crocodiles that thrive in the region's environment.
Conservationists believe that overfishing, which depletes the crocodiles' natural food sources, combined with habitat destruction due to coastal development, has pushed these reptiles further inland towards villages.
