A fishing guide is lucky to be alive after a saltwater crocodile snatched him from a boat – as the 14-year-old boy who saved his life detailed the terrifying ordeal to stunned hosts on The Project.
Sydney man Misha Hammond and his sons Oliver, 18, and Isaac, 14, joined Northern Territory fishing guide Sean Fiumara for a sport fishing charter in the Top End during the school holidays last week.
They set out from the Dhipirri Barra and Sportfishing Lodge in Arnhem Land, south-west of the Crocodile Islands archipelago.
The group toured the area’s famous fishing spots and spent the best part of the day fishing without a single crocodile sighting.
But, when Mr Fiumara stood by one side of the boat showing the teens where to cast, a 3.5metre saltwater crocodile leapt from the water and dragged the fishing guide in.
‘It was a bit of a shock when he first fell in. I sort of jumped up and didn’t know what was happening – but I did when I saw the big crocodile in the water,’ Isaac told The Project on Tuesday night.
The fearless teen grabbed hold of Mr Fiumara as the guide tried to freed himself from the croc’s jaws.
Isaac Hammond, 14, was on a fishing trip with his older brother and father, when their guide was snatched from their boat by a crocodile
‘I grabbed him when he was in the water and pulled him in, then dad helped me pull him onto the boat,’ he said.
Shocked Project host Waleed Aly asked: ‘So Isaac, you’ve got him back onto the boat, what’s the crocodile doing at this stage?’.
‘(It was) at the back of the boat, tailing us and trying to get another go at Sean,’ the teen replied.
Aly then asked what he did next, adding it couldn’t have been fun, getting chased by a crocodile.
‘Nah, it wasn’t,’ Isaac said.
‘Sean had to get up and splash around in the water, like put his hand in the water, to try and get the croc to come over, and then hit it with a big pole’.
Co-host Sam Taunton commended Isaac on being the most ‘chill’ young man, given the terrifying circumstances.
‘What were you thinking, so you know the moment you had to reach down to save him, what was going through your head when you put your hand do–, like I won’t put my hand–. I won’t put my hand anywhere now that I think about it,’ Taunton joked.
‘But, you reached down to a crocodile to try to save him, what were you thinking about?’ he asked incredulously.
Panelists on The Project were stunned by the teen’s bravery during the ordeal
‘Um, I wasn’t really thinking,’ Isaac replied.
‘I just wanted to get him out.’
Isaac agreed that the close croc encounter was not for the faint-hearted.
‘It was intimidating,’ he said.
‘Yeah, he was really aggro and he stayed around the boat until we actually had to drive off.’
He added Mr Fiumara’s injuries were ‘pretty bad’.
‘He had a bunch of punctures on his leg, and he used his hand to open the croc’s jaw,’ he added.
‘So he was in a bit of a bad shape.’
The teen was asked if he’d ever go fishing in Arnhem Land again.
‘We’re going there in April,’ Isaac quipped.
Sean Fiumara (pictured) was thankful for the teen’s quick thinking during the terrifying ordeal
Mr Fiumara’s colleague Greg Campbell had previously told ABC Radio Darwin that he took the guide 30kmby boat to the nearest medical clinic.
The pair bounced over rough waters under ‘horrendous’ weather to Milingimbi Island, where Mr Fiumara was then airlifted to Darwin.
‘He’s glad that we took him to the clinic because originally he didn’t want to go, he thought he’d be okay,’ Mr Campbell said.
‘You don’t get thrashed around under water like that by a big croc and come out of it unscathed unfortunately, but he’s alive to tell the tale and that’s the main thing.’
Mr Fiumara’s injuries included five puncture wounds to his right knee, and damage to his ACL and hand.
He said he owed his life to Isaac.
‘Once under the water, I realised what had happened, the f***er got me,’ Mr Fiumara said, according to the ABC.
‘I could see him latched onto my leg … I stuck my left hand down on the bottom jaw and right hand on the top jaw, and managed to free my leg and kick him in the side of the head.’
