Police: Crocodile lurking in Australian storm water drain

Associated Press, 04/19/98 16:47

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - A six-foot crocodile has been spotted in a storm water drain near a neighborhood where a teen-age girl was mauled in February, police said Sunday.

The crocodile was noticed Saturday on the banks of a drain running off a creek in Westcourt, a suburb of Brisbane, said police Sgt. Trevor Crawford. The animal fled into the drain after a man threw a rock at it, he said.

Department of Environment officers removed another six-foot saltwater crocodile from the same area on Friday.

``The big danger is that this drain is close to a heavily populated (area) and the kids all like playing in the creeks and storm water drains,'' Crawford said.

In February, a crocodile grabbed a 15-year-old girl by the legs and tried to drown her. She grabbed hold of an overhanging branch while her grandmother forced the crocodile to release its grip by kicking it in the head.

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