Tour guide’s snappy move saves girl’s life

An Australian tour guide is being hailed a hero after he fought a huge saltwater crocodile to save the life of an 11-year-old girl the beast was about to kill. The drama reportedly happened on the famous Cape York peninsula, north of Cairns, when Anna Thompson was attacked by the three-metre beast as she swum with friends. According to the BBC News website, the girl had been dragged under the water, with the crocodile about to perform a “death roll”, when Roy Turner jumped into action. He reportedly leapt from his boat on top of the crocodile, gouging at its eyes until it released the child. Local media quotes Turner as saying: “I landed fair on its back and got a finger in its left eye – I missed the right eye – but he got a fright and let go. They will always let go when you go for an eye because it is their vulnerable point.” The girl is now in hospital suffering from puncture wounds but is expected to recover soon. The BBC reports that there are some 100,000 saltwater crocodiles in northern parts of Australia, and that there have been more than a dozen croc-related deaths in the last 20 years. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad