Tourists scrambled out of water after NT croc attack

The tourists were enjoying a midday swim at Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park yesterday unaware of the 2.4-metre saltwater crocodile lurking beneath the surface.

“I heard people yelling out, ‘There’s a croc, there’s a croc’, and I was immediately scared,” Meghan Bennett told 9News.

“I could only see its head. At that point, it was probably about 15 metres from me.”

A 67-year-old man suffered a bite to his arm and remains in a stable condition in Royal Darwin Hospital.

But Bennett and her partner Joel were almost two more victims.

Video shows the pair scaling the side of a waterfall to avoid the crocodile.

”We kind of saw it heading towards us, like charging at us, picking up speed,” she said.

A group of South African tourists jumped in a tinnie to rescue the stranded pair.

Read Related Also: Girl, nine, killed in 'awful' quad bike accident in forest near Perth

”When we got back, it was such a relief there was a lot of people still hanging around,” she added.

Northern Territory authorities confirmed today the male saltwater crocodile had been euthanised overnight.

Further crocodile surveys will take place before it reopens.

“Public safety is our key priority, so please obey all closures and do not enter the water while we are completing the crocodile surveys,” Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security director Dean McAdam said.

“We work hard to reduce the risk of crocodiles in the management zones, however there is always the chance they can move into an area undetected.”

The Northern Territory’s chief minister has also flagged a formal approach to the Commonwealth to start a conversation about the resumption of culling in the Top End following this latest attack and the sighting of a croc at Bitter Springs last week.

“When culling stopped in the NT in the 1970s we had around 3000 crocodiles, there’s now estimated to be around 100,000 crocodiles,” Natasha Fyle said.