A grandmother who was dragged off her boat by a crocodile survived the terrifying attack after punching the beast in the face.
Housewife Kaetek had been scouring the water for snails to feed to her ducks when she was ambushed by the vicious reptile in Aceh province, Indonesia, on Monday.
The 59-year-old was fishing around in the murky waters when the croc latched onto her hand and dragged her off the boat.
Incredibly, the tenacious grandmother was able to fend off the beast by repeatedly punching it in the face with her free hand.
The monster eventually loosened its grip and fled when the roar of a passing motorboat scared it away.
Kaetek was hauled onboard and was taken ashore, where locals quickly scrambled to take her to a local hospital.
Footage shows one man carrying the injured grandmother in his hands across a slippery pontoon and .
She was then placed onto a motorcycle sidecar and was rushed to the Singkil Health Centre with a severe wound on her hand.
Speaking from her hospital bed, a shaken Kaetek said: ‘I was rowing a boat looking for snails and water hyacinths to feed my ducks.
‘When I reached toward the surface of the water to pluck up some river weeds, the crocodile suddenly pounced on my hand. I immediately fell into the river.
‘I screamed for help and tried to fight back while praying. I used my free hand to hit the crocodile’s face.
‘Luckily, a motorboat passed by, and the crocodile let me go. I immediately went ashore and residents on the other side of the river helped me.
Kaetek received 15 stitches for her injured hand.
Village head Pahrul Raji said residents are now hunting the crocodile as it posed a ‘serious threat’ to the locals living on the riverside.
He said: ‘This river is used by the community for various activities. We are worried that if there are children bathing in the river, they could be the next victims.
‘Therefore, we ask that this threatening crocodile be immediately captured for the safety of all.’
The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocodiles.
A large population of these are extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region’s climate.
Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles’ natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.
With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.
