Australian authorities search for missing 12-year-old after reported crocodile attack

The search for a missing 12-year-old who witnesses said was attacked by a crocodile in a remote Australian community has entered the “recovery phase,” according to the BBC.

The unidentified child was swimming in a creek at dusk in Nganmarriyanga, a small town in Australia’s Northern Territory, according to a social media post by the regional emergency authority. The remote community is home to just over 360 people and is about a seven-hour drive from the city of Darwin, the BBC reported.

According to initial reports, the child was attacked by a crocodile, the agency said.

Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services said local police and community members immediately began searching for the child. A search and rescue team was also deployed and continues to search the area. Emergency services did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News.

On Wednesday morning, Northern Territory Police Minister Brent Potter told media, including the BBC, that the operation had entered a “recovery phase”.

“It is a tragic event for any parent or family member to lose a small child, and especially in such circumstances when it is taken by a crocodile,” he told reporters.

Potter said gamekeepers had the authority to “remove” the crocodile if they found it.

Crocodile attacks are rare, according to the BBC, but the region is home to about 100,000 saltwater crocodiles, more than anywhere else in the world. There have been two attacks in the region in the past year – one in January 2024 and one in October 2023 – but neither was fatal. The last fatal attack in the Northern Territory occurred in 2018, according to the BBC. Potter said the incident serves as a reminder to Habitat of the crocodile.

“We live in a place where crocodiles occupy our waterways… this is just a reminder to stay out of the water as much as possible,” Potter said.