A man has managed to prise a crocodile’s jaws from around his head when he was attacked near a luxury resort in Queensland, Australia.

Marcus McGown was snorkelling about 17 miles (28km) off Haggerstone Island in Cape York when the reptile struck.

“While checking out some coral and fish and talking to a fellow snorkeller, I was attacked from behind by a saltwater crocodile which got its jaws around my head,” he said in a statement.

“I thought it was a shark but when I reached up, I realised it was a crocodile.

“I was able to lever its jaws open just far enough to get my head out.

“The crocodile then attempted to attack me a second time, but I managed to push it away with my right hand, which was then bitten by the croc.”

Read more:
Cambodia crocodile farmer torn apart after falling into reptile enclosure
Florida alligator attack: Woman, 85, killed while walking dog near canal

Mr McGowan, 51, said he was able to swim back to the boat and was later flown by helicopter to Cairns for treatment of scalp injuries and puncture wounds.

“Crocodiles in the open ocean can be difficult to locate as the animals often travel tens of kilometres per day,” Queensland’s environmental department said.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Australian media said it was the fifth crocodile attack in the region in the past few months.

Crocodiles can be found in both freshwater and saltwater in Queensland, including rivers, swamps, oceans and the offshore islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

Related posts:

Prankster pretending to be Piers Morgan ‘tricked Trump into phone call on Air Force One’ Overgrown sheep loses 35kg of fleece in much-needed trip to the baaarbers ‘You wouldn’t want it as your Easter treat’: Chocolate given to troops by Queen Victoria is found in an attic ‘A fitting end to an illustrious career’: Accolade for retiring police pooch after heroic chase ‘Caught by his love of Stilton’: Drug dealer jailed after cheese picture analysed for prints COVID-positive woman self-isolates in plane loo for five hours to protect other passengers Boy, four, crashes mother’s car after taking it for joyride ‘The stars are aligned’: Frenchman ready for world record bungee jump bid World’s largest Jaffa Cake weighing 80kg is created by Great British Bake Off winner A snake in McDonald’s and a frog hidden in bunch of bananas among RSPCA’s ‘weird’ rescues of 2022 Microsoft limits new Bing after reports of bizarre answers – with journalist ‘compared to Hitler’ Brewery renames White Face beer after customers say it sounded ‘a bit racist’