Police reported that a 10-year-old boy was eaten by a crocodile after being snatched from a boat and dragged into the river in Balabac town, Palawan last Sunday.
Mimaropa regional police chief Brig. Gen. Tomas Apolinario said the boy’s head and right leg were recovered on Wednesday in a mangrove forest in Sitio Tagpanasan in Barangay Salang.
The boy was identified as Milhasan Suraping. He and his two siblings took a small boat on their way home. Their family often rides a small boat to buy from a store, which was on the other side of the river.
“On their way back home, the victim was snapped and later dragged by a crocodile,” Apolinario said.
Lt. Col. Socrates Faltado, the Mimaropa police spokesman, said the victim’s father, Robinsio Suraping, recovered his son’s remains four days after the incident.
Several people have been killed by crocodiles over the years, especially in the southernmost part of Palawan, which is known to be home to saltwater crocodile.
According to experts, the attacks could be linked to human encroachment on the crocodiles’ natural habitat.
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