A Cape York fisherman is lucky to be alive after battling a 4m crocodile for 15 minutes before help arrived.
According to a report in today’s Courier Mail Todd Bairstow, 28, fought for 15 minutes to free himself from the jaws of a 4m croc by holding on to mangroves and punching the beast with his fists.
Bairstow, a Rio Tinto bauxite mine worker, was fishing on the banks of Trunding Creek near the Albatross Hotel when the huge crocodile lunged out of the water about 4pm yesterday.
The croc attack victim reportedly told Weipa Hospital staff he fought for his life before locals heard his cries and ran to his aid and helped drag him to safety.
He told medical staff how he desperately clung onto mangroves to prevent the big croc dragging him underwater for the deadly death roll.
Last night Bairstow was flown to Cairns by the Royal Flying Doctor Service suffering extensive lower limb lacerations, cuts to his hands,a broken leg and dislocated joints.
He is reportedly in a stable condition with the injuries described as non-life threatening.
Bairstow, an avid fisherman, pig hunter and outdoorsman, told friends on Facebook how he was “living the dream” in the wilderness of Cape York where big crocodiles are a familiar sight in creeks and waterways.
