Crocodile Attack: ‘Human Stupidity To Blame’ Says Australian MP

An Australian MP isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to a recent crocodile attack; he says that “human stupidity” was the cause of a 46-year-old woman being dragged away by a saltwater crocodile. The woman was swimming in waist-deep water on Sunday night at a beach in North Queensland with a friend. Neither of the women was familiar with the area. Around 10:30 p.m. local time, the woman was attacked by a large Australian saltwater crocodile and dragged away.

Warren Entsch, a North Queensland MP, told the media that it’s the victim of the crocodile attack that should be blamed, not the crocodile. He told the media that the beach where the women decided to go night swimming is adjacent to a creek that offers crocodile-spotting tours and said that the women should have known better than to be doing what they were doing.

“You can’t legislate against human stupidity. This is a tragedy but it was avoidable. You can only get there by ferry, and there are signs there saying watch out for the bloody crocodiles. If you go in swimming at 10 o’clock at night, you’re going to get consumed.”

Official blames "human stupidity" for suspected fatal crocodile attack in Australia; 46 y/o woman still missing https://t.co/XRfCJHTZad

— KTLA (@KTLA) May 30, 2016

After Sunday night’s crocodile attack, authorities were notified immediately and emergency services got to the scene of the tragedy as soon as they possibly could. Unfortunately, they were unable to locate the victim, who is now presumed dead. Authorities are still searching the area.

“We were called down to Thornton beach late last evening for reports of a female that was walking in the water with another lady and it has been alleged that a crocodile has come and grabbed one of the ladies and pulled her into the ocean.”

During the horrific crocodile attack, the 46-year-old woman’s friend did everything she could to save her, including trying to pull her away from the attacking reptile. Unfortunately, the crocodile was much too strong, and the second woman was unable to do anything to rescue her friend from the jaws of the crocodile.

The witness to the crocodile attack suffered only minor physical injuries, but she is being treated at Mossman Hospital for some cuts and shock.

“The lady that was on the beach still was transported through to Mossman Hospital, by Queensland Ambulance Service in a stable condition, but obviously extremely traumatized by the events that have occurred last night.”

While last weekend’s crocodile incident was horrific and tragic and (according to the Australian MP) the result of “human stupidity,” such attacks are very rare. Especially when you consider that the northernmost portion of North Australia is literally infested with crocodiles.

The Australian government has gone to great lengths to warn tourists and locals alike about the danger of crocodile attacks, posting signs in areas where crocodiles are commonly found. According to MP Entsch, the beach where the missing woman and her friend decided to go swimming had plenty of signs and warnings, but the attack victim chose to disregard them.

In the last decade, only 15 fatalities have been attributed to crocodile attack in the area. All crocodiles involved in the fatal attacks have been of the saltwater variety. Saltwater crocodiles tend to be larger and more aggressive than their freshwater cousins.

Last weekend’s crocodile attack (if it was indeed fatal, as it has been presumed) was the first fatal attack in the area since 2009. In the 2009 attack, a 5-year-old child was snatched from the riverbank while playing.

What do you think about this most recent croc attack in Australia? Is it appropriate for the Australian MP to publicly claim that the crocodile attack was the result of “human stupidity,” or was such a comment crass and unprofessional given the circumstances?

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