Crocodile drags woman to her death as friends tried to hold on to her before re-emerging with woman’s body (video)

Horrifying footage shows the moment a crocodile emerged from a river with a woman in its jaws after dragging her beneath the water and mauling her to death while friends tried to save her. 

Tarti Kolengsusu, 43, had been gathering water spinach from the Air Biak River in Indonesia with her friends when the huge reptile latched onto her leg on Wednesday, March 12. 

The terrified mother screamed for help during the attack, waving her arms as she desperately battled to stay above the water 
 

She grabbed her friends’ hands and they tried to pull her back onto the riverbank, but the animal pulled her from their grasp.  

Her friends managed to escape and ran to their village to raise the alarm, but by the time rescuers and local residents rushed to the scene Tarti was dead in the reptile’s jaws. 
 

Footage shows the crocodile seemingly swimming near land while holding the woman’s lifeless body.  

It continued circling the river, weaving up and down with the woman’s long hair flowing underwater as people are heard screaming and shouting in horror. 
 

Locals were only able to collect her body around two hours later after the crocodile released her. 

The local police chief reportedly said in a statement: “The victim and her three friends picked water spinach on the other side of the river.  

“An hour later, they were crossing the water to go home when she suddenly shouted. 

“She was screaming ‘help me, I’m in danger!’ At that time she was behind the group and drowning in the middle of the river. 

“One of her friends, Wati, tried to pull the victim to the edge of the river, but she let go because she was afraid of also drowning. 

“After searching for more than two hours, the victim was found dead. She has been taken back to her home for a funeral. 

“The South Buru Police will convene with the local government and related agencies to discuss mitigation efforts.  

“It is hoped that in the future there will be no more fatalities caused by crocodiles.”

Watch video below.