A nine-year-old boy was attacked and eaten by a swarm of
crocodiles in an alligator pool?at a seashore resort in Beihai
City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to
local police.
The tragedy occurred at about 6 PM on Friday, when a pupil
surnamed Liu from Xiantian Primary School climbed over the fence of
a crocodile pool which has been temporarily closed.
"He was attacked by a crocodile and shouted for help. I tried to
pull him back, but more crocodiles swarmed over and started to bite
him," said a student witness surnamed Pang.
Local police confirmed the death but declined to give more
details.
The pool, which had been used to stage crocodile shows, is
located in a recreational park in a holiday resort called Beihai
Yintan, or Silver Beach. It has been sealed off for auction.
In August 2005, crocodiles in this park sneaked out through a
water pipe and crawled to the beach, freaking out tourists.
Local residents said the owner of the park had hired a keeper
for the crocodiles. It is not known why the man was not present
when the accident happened.
(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2007)