Welcome to ScubaBoard, an online scuba diving forum community where you can join over 185,000 divers from around the world discussing all things related to Scuba Diving. To gain full access to ScubaBoard (and make this large box go away) you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:
Participate in over 500 dive topic forums and browse from over 5,500,000 posts.
Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
Post your own photos or view from well over 100,000 user submitted images.
Gain access to our free classifieds marketplace to buy, sell and trade gear, travel and services.
Use the calendar to organize your events and enroll in other members' events.
All this and much more is available to you absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact the ScubaBoard Support Team.
British snorkeller killed by crocodile in Australia
By Roger Maynard in Sydney
A British man whose badly mauled body was found off Australia’s remote north eastern coast is believed to have been attacked and killed by a crocodile.
Mining superintendent Russell Harris, 37, from Eastwood, near Nottingham, disappeared while snorkelling off Groote Eylandt, a mineral-rich island about 35 miles from the mainland, in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
He had been working in the local manganese mine owned by BHP for the past five months. Tragedy struck over the weekend when Mr Harris and a friend went diving off some rocks near a popular island beach.
The two men became separated and when the Briton had still not returned after two hours, the alarm was raised.
Residents mounted a search while the victim’s dustraught American wife waited on the beach. His remains were found in shallow water on Sunday morning, about a mile from where he was last seen.
Police said they believed he had been taken by a 12ft saltwater crocodile, which had been spotted in the area.
Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Pfitzner said the man’s body appeared to have been mauled. "There are a number of injuries on the deceased and there was a crocodile sighted very close to where the decease was located," he added.
Police said they planned to catch the crocodile and relocate it. "If we can’t catch it we may have to give consideration to shooting it," Sergeant Pfitzner said.
Today Tania Price, a spokeswoman for BHP in Melbourne, said that the company was arranging to fly members of Mr Harris’ family out from the UK. "Our priority is to provide support to the family of Mr Harris who had also worked for one of our coal operations in New Mexico before moving to Australia," she added.
A British High Commission official based in Brisbane, Megan Hunt, said,"We will be offering support to Mr Harris’s wife and his family from the UK."
His body will be flown to Darwin for a post mortem.
Fellow workers and residents of Groote Eylandt ('Big Island') described Mr Harris as friendly, well-mannered and reserved. But some claimed that being a relative newcomer to the island may have contributed to his death. "He may not have been fully aware of the potential danger in the water," said one.
Large saltwater crocodiles are not unknown in the area and there have been several attacks in recent years following the introduction of a ban on hunting the creatures.
The Northern Territory government has considered issuing licences to big game hunters, a move it believes would attract thousands of tourist dollars. But the federal government in Canberra is refusing to grant export permits for the skull and skin trophies.
Thanks for that report. Sorry to see it happen. Between great white attacks, now crocodiles, throw in some Box Jelley Fish, Australia can be a unforgiving dangerous place. At least, the natives are friendly.
Download Google Earth and have a look. Australia might be just a *tad* bigger than you think
Groote Eyland is located in the Gulf of Carpentaria - it's the "big bit of water in the middle at the top". The island is approximately 50 km from east to west and 60 km from north to south, with a total area of approximately 2260 square kilometres, or 872 square miles.
Good heavens! I think I may have met this man! I taught some seminars to the professional and engineering staffs at BHP's Navajo Mine near Farmington, NM a few years ago. If this is the same man I think it is, he was in one of my classes. This is eerie!
Richard Wilson
Another report on incident - with interesting anecdote of boy who escaped from the Jaws of a croc!! :11:
Crocodile suspected of killing snorkeller
From Divernet 27/09/05
A Briton, snorkelling off north-east Australia, is thought to have been killed by a saltwater crocodile.
Russell Harris, 37, was snorkelling on Saturday with a friend off Groote Elyandt Island, near Australia's northern tip, when he disappeared after being seen about 20m off a beach.
According to a BBC report, Harris's body was located and recovered the following day. Although his disappearance was not directly witnessed, his injuries were consistent with a crocodile attack.
It was reported that a crocodile, estimated at about 4m long, had been spotted in the area close to where Harris and his companion were snorkelling.
Harris came from Eastwood, near Nottingham, and is reported to have worked as a mine worker on Groote Elyandt Island.
The death came days after a young snorkeller managed to escape the clutches of another saltwater crocodile, off Australia's north-west coast.
According to the BBC Sam West, 12, was in the sea off Kimberly, about 350 miles south-west of Darwin, when he was seized by the crocodile. Like Russell Harris, he was snorkelling some 20m from shore.
The attack was witnessed by the boy's father, Bill, who reported that the crocodile held his son's head in its jaws, before letting go and attempting to take hold of his arms. The crocodile gave up after the boy went for its eyes.
Sam West was retrieved from the sea and flown to hospital in Darwin, where he was reported to be in a satisfactory condition.
Australia's last fatal crocodile attack occurred in mid-August, again in salt water. A 60-year-old man was dragged under after a crocodile capsized the canoe from which he and his wife were fishing in the Normanby estuary, near Cooktown in Queensland.
The wife swam safely to shore. The 4m crocodile suspected of the attack was shot.
Tropical northern Australia is known for its populations of saltwater crocodiles, which range from coastal seaboards to the upper reaches of tidal rivers. They can grow to about 6m long and can live for some 75 years.
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
