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Harrowing footage shows a crocodile dragging a handler underwater during a fatal attack at a family park.
The worker was feeding the animal a chicken inside an enclosure at Adventure Park in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, on Saturday afternoon when the reptile attacked.
A large crowd gathered around the enclosure as the horrific ordeal unfolded, with bystanders trying to help the handler while they waited for emergency services.
The man was eventually freed after reportedly spending more than an hour trapped in the crocodile’s jaws and was rushed to 3 Mile General Hospital.
He died from his injuries on Sunday morning.
Eyewitness Gibson John said the crocodile struck as the worker approached the enclosure with the chicken.
"He brought the chicken to the fence, and the crocodile attacked the person and tried to bring him into the pool," John said, according to ABC.
A terrifying clip appeared to show the handler clinging to the side of the pool while holding onto a pole offered by a bystander perched on the fence.
The crocodile’s jaws appeared to be wrapped around the worker’s legs.
Later footage showed another bystander holding onto the man’s arms from the edge of the pool as he groaned in agony and waited for help.
"He was in severe pain but he couldn’t scream. He couldn’t speak properly at that time. It was the pain I could see from his eyes," he continued. "The only thing I could hear him say was, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.'"
St John Ambulance and police reportedly arrived at the park, with officers shooting the crocodile before the worker could be freed.
Visitors were ushered out of the park amid the commotion.
John said he was later told the handler, who was from the Western Islands in northern Papua New Guinea, had lost a leg before reaching the hospital.
The worker was taken to 3 Mile General Hospital by St John Ambulance but died from his injuries on Sunday.
He had worked at Adventure Park for about two years, according to the outlet.
The park was subsequently closed until further notice, while staff gathered at a funeral home on Sunday.
Adventure Park holds crocodile feeding demonstrations featuring staff closely interacting with the animals.
A video previously shared online also showed workers handling crocodiles at the park, though it was unclear whether the handler who died appeared in those videos.
Papua New Guinea’s official travel website describes Adventure Park as a "premier family attraction, offering a fun-filled day of rides, wildlife, gardens, and outdoor adventure".
Per The New York Post, the fatal incident follows another disturbing crocodile encounter in Florida last year, when one of the reptiles was spotted swimming through a canal with a large dog clamped in its mouth.
"I got a text from a friend that was walking with their baby in a stroller, and 10 feet away is this 11-foot crocodile swimming with a Golden Retriever-type breed in it’s mouth. And so at that point I couldn’t help but go there," Satellite Beach resident Zach Spurlock told local media at the time.
