Horror as holiday Briton is killed by crocodile
Journalist was dragged into muddy lagoon
‘Deep and murky’
A JOURNALIST for the Financial Times is feared to have been dragged into a lagoon and killed by a crocodile in Sri Lanka.
Paul McClean is believed to have been snatched as he washed his hands during a surfing holiday with friends.
Witnesses said they saw the 24-yearold wave his arms in the air before vanishing under the water.
Mr McClean began working for the Financial Times two years ago after graduating with a first- class degree from the University of Oxford.
Police and the army launched a hunt for his body following his disappearance yesterday afternoon.
However it is thought the crocodile may have hidden him in the muddy lagoon.
The body of water is set back from the beach in an area called Elephant Rock, which is a popular surfing spot for British backpackers in eastern Sri Lanka.
Fawas Lafeer, owner of Safa Surf School, near the scene, said: ‘ He was learning to surf and after that he wanted to go to the toilet.
‘He went in the jungle. It was when he was washing his hands that the crocodile took him. A local fisherman witnessed a man being dragged in by a crocodile. The police were called immediately. They can’t do anything because the river is deep and murky.’
He added: ‘ They have sent out the navy and army. The crocodiles take the bodies along the river and hide them in the mud, so I don’t think he will be found until the day after tomorrow.
‘This is the first time anything like this has happened, Elephant Rock is always safe to surf.’ Another British tourist, who did not wish to give his name, said: ‘People last saw his arms in the air in the water and then he was grabbed under. They are 90 per cent sure it was a crocodile but a couple of the guys said there was quicksand in the lagoon. ‘A few people that knew the guy were just on the ground, I didn’t get that close but they all seemed in shock and not saying much. ‘There were a large crowd of Sri Lankan men surrounding them and they had bits of paper.’ Another shocked man, Sean Carroll, from New South Wales, Australia, wrote on Facebook: ‘A croc just took a tourist bloke in Sri Lanka.’ Mr McClean graduated with a degree in French. He began working at the Financial Times in September 2015 and was previously based in Brussels, covering Brexit for the newspaper. He lived in Thames Ditton, Surrey, with his brother Neil, 22, and his parents Peter, 66, and Irene, 59. His father is the director of a management consultancy company and his mother is a reception manager at a health club. There are two kinds of crocodile that live in Sri Lanka, the marsh – or ‘mugger’ – crocodile, and the estuarine crocodile. There are believed to be thousands of marsh crocodiles spread throughout various water bodies in the island. In April, a 13-year- old girl was attacked and dragged away by a crocodile while she was enjoying a day out with her family at Sri Lanka’s Pulnewa Lake, in Galnewa. The girl was reported missing by her family, who said they saw her being dragged into the water by the large reptile.
In July 2016, a 60-year- old Sri Lankan man was also killed in a crocodile attack. He had been fishing in the Paayindan river when he was attacked.
In November 2016, a 17ft crocodile, which weighed nearly a ton, was found jammed in a waterway in the southern city of Matara.