70-year-old woman escapes from 8-foot-long crocodile's jaws after fighting off reptile

A 70-year-old woman in India bravely fought off a huge crocodile after being attacked by the reptile while she was washing utensils near a river.

The 8-foot-long crocodile tried to drag the woman into the river water around Bhitarkanika National Park in the eastern state of Odisha.

"I was shocked when the crocodile suddenly appeared from the water and held onto my legs while I was washing utensils at the river ghat," the woman – identified as Ahalya Parida – told The New Indian Express on Monday.

She began screaming, but instead of waiting for help, she decided to fight off the reptile. According to reports, the woman pricked the eyes of the crocodile, following which the reptile loosened its grip allowing her to escape from its jaws. Parida was later rushed to a private hospital in the city of Bhubaneswar for her treatment as her condition was serious, Sambad English reported.

The woman's brave act made her the talk of the village where the incident took place. However, residents were in fear as there have been four reported deaths related to crocodile attacks in the last three months around the park.

"Crocodiles are a big problem. Nobody can even dare take a bath in the river; not even the animals," Arabinda Mandal, former head of the local governing body, reportedly said.

A man taking a bath in a river was attacked by a crocodile Friday. The cattle-rearer was grazing the animals when he went to the nearby Brahmani river to wash himself. An eye-witness said a crocodile emerged out of the knee-deep water and grabbed the man in its jaws, before dragging him into the water.

The police and forest officials launched a search but could not find his body. "We have warned riverside villagers not to enter into the rivers, creeks and water bodies of Bhitarkanika. To prevent human-crocodile conflict in the recent breeding season, the Forest department barricaded around 30 river ghats and cautioned villagers not to go beyond the barricaded areas," J.D. Pati, senior forest official, said.