Crocodile bites off Australian woman's arm in savage ‘death roll’ attack

A woman walking her dogs in Australia has had her arm bitten off by a crocodile in a "death roll" attack.

The victim, in her 60s, had been walking at Three Mile Creek in Wyndham when the predator struck on Wednesday afternoon.

The woman stopped a passing car for help after the attack but reportedly needed to be convinced to get into the vehicle as she did not want to get blood on the seats.

After being taken to Wyndham Hospital she was then flown over 200 miles to the Royal Darwin Hospital where she underwent surgery. She is missing her arm from just above the elbow but understood to be in a stable condition.

Michael Snowball, the owner of a cafe near to the creek where the attack happened, said: "It came out of the water and grabbed her and did a death roll and took her arm off near the elbow."

During a death roll a crocodile spins and twists to rip off parts of its prey.

Mr Snowball said it was the first time he had heard about a crocodile attack at the creek, where children swam.

Resident Paul Cavanagh said his nephew and son-in-law picked the injured woman up and took her to hospital after seeing she was missing her arm..

"She was standing on the side of the road just shocked," he said.

"She's lived here a long time, hopefully she's all right."

Police cordoned off the area but by the time wildlife officers arrived, the animal had disappeared.

A Department of Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said the creature was believed to be a saltwater crocodile, which can grow up to 23 feet long and weigh more than a tonne.

Crocodiles are common in Australia's tropical north where numbers have increased since the introduction of protection laws in 1971, with government estimates putting the national population at around 100,000.

They kill an average of two people each year in Australia.