DAINTREE NATIONAL PARK, AUSTRALIA — A 46-year-old Australian woman is missing and feared dead after she was taken by a crocodile while swimming with a friend in northern Queensland on Sunday. <br /> <br />The woman was walking on the beach with a 47-year-old friend in Daintree National Park, north of Cairns, around 10:30 p.m., when the two decided to go for a swim in the waist-high water, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. <br /> <br />While wading in the water, they felt a nudge, and the 46-year-old was dragged into the water by the crocodile. Her friend tried to drag her to safety but failed. <br /> <br />The friend was taken to Mossman Hospital, where she was treated for shock and a graze on her arm. <br /> <br />A helicopter with thermal imaging equipment could not find the victim that night. A full-scale search and rescue operation was launched Monday morning. <br /> <br />Neil Noble from the Queensland Ambulance Service told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that a five-meter crocodile had been sighted in the area in recent days. <br /> <br />“The whole of Cairns and up into the Cape is known for its large crocodiles,” he said. <br /> <br />“Certainly one has to be very careful around our waterways. Stay well away from the water when you can, especially when you can't see.” <br /> <br />The area is a known crocodile habitat, local residents told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. <br /> <br />Warren Entsch, MP for northern Queensland, blamed the attack on “human stupidity” and warned that it should not provoke a “vendetta” against crocodiles in the area. <br /> <br />“You can only get there by ferry, and there are signs there saying watch out for the bloody crocodiles,” Ensch told the Australian Associated Press. <br /> <br />“If you go in swimming at 10 o’clock at night, you’re going to get consumed.”
