In Reply to: Diver killed in suspected croc attack posted by on September 29, 2005 at 02:32:17:

A DIVER is believed to have been killed by a crocodile in the second fatal attack in the Northern Territory in days.

Police said the body of a 56-year-old man was recovered from a beach near Cape Don this afternoon.

Acting police superintendent Dean McMaster said the man had sustained injuries believed to be consistent with a crocodile attack.

However, the cause of death would be confirmed by a post-mortem examination, he said.

The man's body will be returned to Darwin tonight.

The incident comes just five days after British snorkeller Russell Harris, 37, was killed by a 4m saltwater crocodile while swimming off Groote Eylandt in the NT.

The 56-year-old man was reported missing today by a diving companion after he failed to surface.

The other diver also reported seeing a large crocodile in the vicinity, and marked the exact location the man went missing with an electronic positioning beacon and marker buoy.

Supt McMaster praised the man, saying his quick actions enabled the rapid recovery of the victim's body.

"Despite the pressure of the situation, the man did everything possible to help in the search for the diver," Supt McMaster said.

"The incident happened in a very remote area and, in fact, it took several hours for police to reach the scene.

"But for the quick actions of the man, the diver's body may never have been recovered."

The incident comes after Mr Harris was killed by a crocodile off Groote Eylandt on Saturday.

Authorities are still hunting the culprit.

Mr Harris's death sparked renewed debate about whether limited safari hunting of some of the NT's 75,000 crocodiles should be allowed.

The Federal Government is expected to make a decision soon on the NT government proposal, for trophy hunting of 25 crocodiles a year.

Crocodile numbers have exploded since the reptile was declared a protected animal and hunting was banned 33 years ago.

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