The remains of what is believed to be the body of a 12-year-old girl reportedly attacked by a crocodile have been found, according to Australian police.

The child was reported missing on Tuesday evening after swimming in a creek near Palumpa, a remote town of around 350 people seven hours by road from Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.

The unnamed girl went missing at about 5.30pm local time on Tuesday, shortly after she was swimming in Mango Creek, in Nganmarriyanga, an Aboriginal community in the Daly River region, NT News said.

The child was on holiday with her family when they visited the creek, and it was reported that a black crocodile was seen in the immediate area, police told ABC Radio.

Senior Sergeant Erica Gibson of the Northern Territory Police said in a statement released at noon on Thursday: “This is devastating news for the family, the community and everyone involved in the search.”

Ms Gibson said the recovery was “particularly gruesome, and a sad outcome”.

She said it had been an “extremely difficult” 36 hours for the family and for first responders, and police were providing support to them.

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The incident was, she added, a “salient reminder” that waterways in the Northern Territory “could always have crocodiles in them”.

Ms Gibson, who led the search, said a boat and helicopter had both been used to comb the area and efforts to trap the crocodile would continue.

Local people and police from the nearby town of Wadeye joined other officers searching the creek’s banks and the surrounding area on Wednesday, Ms Gibson said, adding that the community was “extremely distressed” by the incident.

“Croc-searching” began at sunset on Wednesday, but she said there were no sightings overnight.

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There are more than 100,000 crocodiles in the Northern Territory, which has a land area more than six times the size of Britain, though fatal attacks are relatively rare. They can grow up to six metres (20 ft) long.

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