There is still no sign of the New Zealand woman snatched by a crocodile during a late-night swim in far-north Queensland on Sunday night, but local politicians say the accident was caused by “human stupidity”.
The missing woman, Cindy Waldron, 46, had reportedly been living in Australia for 18 years, but went to primary school in Hamilton.
Police say she was swimming with a friend, fellow ex-Kiwi Leeann Mitchell, 47, at Thornton Beach at Daintree, north of Cairns around 10pm on Sunday.
“Her 47-year-old friend tried to grab her and drag her to safety and she just wasn’t able to do that,” Senior Constable Russell Parker told ABC Radio.
Witnesses report hearing the woman yell “a croc’s got me, a croc’s got me,” 9News reports.
A search including water police and SES volunteers began at first light to try to locate the woman.
Leeann was last night in an Australian hospital being treated for shock as emergency services scoured north Queensland waterways Cindy.
The pair went to primary school together in Hamilton but each lived in different parts of Australia.
North Queensland member for parliament, Warren Entsch said it is the victim, rather than the crocodile, that should be blamed for the attack.
“You can’t legislate against human stupidity,” Entsch said. Thornton Beach lies next to a creek where tourism operators run crocodile-spotting tours.
“This is a tragedy but it was avoidable. You can only get there by ferry, and there are signs there saying watch out for the bloody crocodiles,” he added.
“If you go in swimming at 10 o’clock at night, you’re going to get consumed.”
