Woman locked in crocodile’s grip for 90 minutes rescued in harrowing clip
It was nearly a crocodile Dun-deal.
A palm plantation worker in Indonesia is lucky to be alive after a crocodile dragged her into a swamp — where it held her for an agonizing 90 minutes before she was rescued.
Video of the “Lake Placid”-evoking clip is currently blowing up online as viewers marvel at how she escaped the jaws of death.
“I couldn’t break free,” Falmira De Jesus, 38, told Viral Press of the harrowing attack, which occurred while on July 27 she was working on a palm oil plantation in the Ketapang Regency of West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia.
According to resort police the, victim had reportedly been collecting water by a reed-covered creek, when a crocodile lunged out and dragged her into the body of water.
The mother-of-two fought fiercely with the beast, before calling for help, whereupon fellow employees rushed to her aid.
The nail-biting footage shows Falmira submerged up to her neck in the weed-choked pond as the unseen predator attempts to drag her to a watery grave.
She suddenly disappears beneath the surface as if sucked down by quicksand, prompting a worker to reach toward her with a pole in an attempt to fish her out.
“I was in pain from where the crocodile was holding me,” recounted the petrified palm oil worker. “Then I started to feel like I was becoming weaker. I just thought I was going to die, because I was falling below the water.”
Crocs are ambush predators that kill their prey by holding them underwater until they drown.
This particular croc reportedly held onto the woman for a whopping 90 minutes as the employees tried to rescue her from its trash compactor grip.
The samaritans were reportedly too afraid to climb into the water for fear that they might suffer the same fate.
Thankfully, help finally arrived and dragged Falmira out of the mire, after which she was rushed to the Imanudin Hospital with deep puncture wounds on her right arm, thigh and lower leg, police reported.
Doctors monitored her constantly as they were concerned that her bites might become infected.
Despite surviving the frightening ordeal, Falmira claimed that she could still “see the crocodile in my mind” while lying in her hospital bed.
“I am very grateful for people that helped me to escape,” the croc attack survivor gushed. “They saved my life.”
Currently, her condition remains unclear.
In light of the incident, authorities are warning the workers to remain cautious while on resort grounds.
“We urge workers and residents around the plantation to be more vigilant about the existence of these wild animals,” implored Ketapang Resort Police Comissioner Tommy Ferdian.
Indonesia is reportedly home to 14 species of crocodiles, the most dangerous of which is the estuarine or saltwater variety, which can grow to 23 feet long and weigh up to 2,200 pounds.
A known man-eater, this ferocious predator can chomp prey with a bite force of 3,700 pounds per square inch, the strongest in the animal kingdom.
Conservationists believe that the critters have been driven further inland in proximity to human habitations due to a variety of factors. These include habitat loss from the conversion of coastal regions into farmland and overfishing, which has caused the crocs’ food sources to dwindle.
This combined with the fact that locals frequently use waterways for bathing and fishing has created a perfect storm for crocodile attacks.
Unfortunately, it’s not just those residing in the eastern hemisphere that have to be on guard for crocodiles.
Last summer, two US tourists were mauled by one of the predators at Mexico’s popular Puerto Vallarta resort after one went for a nocturnal dip in the ocean and the other followed him into the water to help.
