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Teenager survives crocodile attack in Queensland Man found dead in suspected crocodile attack in Australia
(about 5 hours later)
An Australian teenager has survived a crocodile attack after entering a river apparently on a dare, authorities say. A man has been found dead after a suspected crocodile attack in Australia, authorities say.
Lee de Paauw, 18, managed to escape the reptile when it latched on to his arm in Far North Queensland on Sunday. The victim is believed to be a spear fisherman, 35, whose boat was found empty off Palmer Point, in Far North Queensland, on Saturday.
Queensland Police said an initial investigation suggested the man was killed by a crocodile.
On Sunday, an 18-year-old man survived a crocodile attack about 65km (40 miles) south at Innisfail.
Police investigating the man's death said they had begun searching for a crocodile more than 4m long.
If a crocodile is confirmed to be responsible, it would be the ninth fatal attack in Queensland since 1985.
Authorities said a large crocodile made an aggressive rush towards a police boat on Sunday night.
"It appears that this animal may be responsible for the death of this man," said Dr Matt Brien, from Queensland's Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
"It's not consistent with a wild crocodile. They tend to be fairly wary of people. It's a behaviour that we have seen before in crocodiles that have attacked people."
If found the reptile would be captured or killed, he said.
Teenager's escape
In the incident at Innisfail, teenager Lee de Paauw was bitten on the arm by a crocodile after jumping into a river late at night.
He suffered lacerations and fractures before undergoing surgery in hospital.He suffered lacerations and fractures before undergoing surgery in hospital.
Witnesses said Mr de Paauw jumped into the river as part of a dare, according to Queensland Ambulance Service paramedic Neil Noble. "I hit it once on the nose [and] it loosened a bit," Mr de Paauw told radio station Nova FM on Monday.
"We're just grateful that he has survived this incident because it could have turned out to be fatal," he said. "I got another hit in and it was right on its eye. I was lucky because it just dropped me."
"Certainly to get out the water was absolutely vital in case that crocodile was able to get a good grip on him." Witnesses said Mr de Paauw went into the river as part of a dare.
Quick attack "It all happened very fast, pretty much as soon as he jumped in, there was splashing and screaming," Sophie Paterson, a British backpacker, told the Courier Mail.
The incident happened in the Johnstone River in Innisfail about 02:30 local time (15:30 GMT Saturday). Queensland paramedic Neil Noble said the teenager was lucky to be alive.
British backpacker Sophie Paterson said she did not believe Mr de Paauw would follow through on the dare.
"It all happened very fast, pretty much as soon as he jumped in, there was splashing and screaming," she told the Courier Mail.
Crocodiles have been responsible for eight deaths in Queensland since 1985.