Crocodile attacks man, victim airlifted to Far North Queensland hospital

A man has been attacked by a crocodile in Far North Queensland.

The crocodile punctured the man’s lower back, upper legs and hand in the attack near Ingham, about 8.40am on Tuesday.

Forrest Beach Road in Victoria Plantation, where the attack happened, is built up with dozens of houses, and backs directly onto Palm Creek – a hotspot for crocodile sightings.

The victim is in his 20s and was taken in a stable condition to Ingham Hospital, and later flown to Townsville Hospital by rescue helicopter.

Federal MP Bob Katter said crocodiles had overtaken Far North Queensland.

“We don’t have theme parks or fun parks, in our little towns in North Queensland, or even our big towns in North Queensland.

“So we go down and swim in the river and water ski in the river, as we’ve done for generations, but we can’t now.

“It’s been taken off us by people that live 3000 kilometres away, [who] are telling us what we can and can’t do.”

In a social media post, Katter’s Australia Party blasted the “hands-off, city-centric approach to croc management” for putting regional communities at risk.

“This is not about wiping crocodiles out. It’s about common sense, regional safety, and co-existence that actually works.

“Queenslanders shouldn’t be expected to accept attacks as ‘inevitable’ while governments refuse to act.”

It is the second major animal incident in Queensland in two days, following the discovery of a woman’s body on K’gari surrounded by dingoes.

It also follows four shark attacks in NSW over a 48-hour period.

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