FLOODY HELL , MATE
Eton schoolboys in Oz rescued after camping in a croc-filled flood zone
THREE Old Etonians feared being eaten alive as croc-infested flood water engulfed their camper van.
Gap-year travellers Ed Talbot, 19, Tom White and Tom Vare, both 18, arrived late at the riverside in Australia and missed warnings about rising water and crocs.
They awoke at dawn near Cairns, Queensland, to find water gushing in.
Ed, of Hampshire, said: “We were in a shock and panic and started bailing out. But we decided to stay when we saw a sign: ‘Caution, danger of crocodiles’.”
The saltwater crocs can grow to 20ft and are known to kill people.
Mr White, of Somerset, wanted to swim for it but was “outvoted”.
At 6am rescuers picked them up in an inflatable, as police kept watch for crocs.
Rescuer Guy Bulmer said the boys had done the right thing.
He added: “You don’t know what’s in the water – crocs, logs, debris.”
The lads are due to start university in October after leaving Eton, Berks, in June.