60-yr-old Australian uses pocket knife to fight off crocodile, escapes with his life

A man from Australia luckily escaped the jaws of a large crocodile by stabbing it in the head after it dragged him into a river. As per local authorities, the 60-year-old man repeatedly stabbed the head of the crocodile with his pocket knife.

The incident occurred at a remote riverbank in Australia’s far-northern Cape York Peninsula.

According to wildlife officers, the injured man was lucky to be alive after surviving the terrifying attack. “There was a struggle and he fortunately escaped the grip of a four to four-and-a-half-metre crocodile. The odds of doing that are about zero. He described seeing the crocodile seconds before it lunged at him, knocking him over as he was about to cast his fishing rod,” said Matt Brien of the Queensland state environment department.

Explaining more about the incident, Brien stated that the man had gone fishing last week near Hope Vale, which is about five hours’ drive from Cairns. Before he could be attacked by a crocodile, the man chased away a bull from the spot. Following this, a crocodile attacked him.

To save himself from the jaws of death, the man had initially grabbed onto the branch of a mangrove tree to stay out of the river. But to his surprise, the man was pulled into the water before he could think of another plan.

After being dragged into the river, the courageous man managed to retrieve a pocket knife from his belt and continuously stabbed the crocodile in its head until it let him go. On being freed, the man then scrambled up the bank and asked for immediate medical assistance. Following this, he was rushed to Cooktown Hospital for treatment.

Later, he was flown to Cairns Hospital, where he is still recovering. Recently, a health department spokeswoman informed that the man is in a “stable” condition. Earlier this week, the Wildlife officers interviewed the man and confirmed that his injuries were consistent with a crocodile attack.