Tourists were not warned about crocodile attacks, residents claim
THE Sri Lankan authorities were last night struggling to contain the damaging fallout from the death of a British journalist killed in a crocodile attack.
Officials have ordered police to erect warning signs in the area where Paul Mcclean, 24, a reporter on the Financial Times, was attacked as he washed himself in the mouth of a river, near the beach where he was learning to surf.
Residents claimed that visitors to the southern Sri Lankan beach resort where Mr Mcclean was killed were not warned of the possibility of crocodile attacks in the area. The authorities fear the local tourist economy, which draws thousands every year to the area’s long sandy beaches, could be hit as a result of the tragedy.
Sub Inspector T D Gayana Sampath Ratnayake, said: “Following this incident the deputy inspector general in the area has instructed us to put warning boards in several languages.”
Mr Mcclean had arrived in the country from London for a holiday earlier this week with a group of British and American friends, and had gone on a surfing lesson at the Safa Surf School when Thursday afternoon’s tragedy happened.
He was last seen screaming for help and waving his hands in the air as the large reptile grabbed him. Locals told The Daily Telegraph that despite the rivers in the area being infested with crocodiles, the authorities had not taken any measures to warn either the locals or visiting foreigners.
Wijeya Wijesinghe, a teacher who visited the scene in the immediate aftermath, told The Telegraph: “A number of locals, especially fishermen, had seen crocodiles in the area.
“There were few incidents of crocodile attacks but they were casualties. However no local authority or the tourist industry had taken measures to warn tourists about danger.”
In one of the first detailed accounts of the attack Mr Wijesinghe said: “A local fisherman who was about 20 meters away had seen the crocodile getting into water.
“A few minutes later he saw the hands of victim who seemed to be struggling to save himself from the crocodile.”
Navy divers recovered Mr Mcclean’s body yesterday morning from the muddy lagoon bed near Elephant Rock beach where it had been buried by the crocodile.
A local magistrate is overseeing an investigation into the tragedy, with a post mortem due to be held today.
An initial examination revealed horrific wounds to Mr Mcclean’s legs, where he had been dragged into the water by the crocodile.
After travelling to southern Sri Lanka and spending time in the resort of Unawatuna, Mr Mclean moved on to the East Beach Surf Resort in Arugam Bay where he had arranged for surf lessons with an outside operator.
He was travelling with school friends Chris Baller and Lorenzo Cadoux-hud- son. Mr Baller yesterday posted a photograph of himself hugging Mr Mcclean on a Sri Lankan mountain top, in tribute to his friend.
Yesterday colleagues at the FT spoke of him as a talented journalist with an engaging sense of humour and a sharp eye for a story.
James Lamont, the FT’S managing editor, described Mr Mcclean as “a talented, energetic and dedicated young journalist” who had “a great career ahead of him at the FT”.
Mr Mcclean established a reputation as a rising star at the paper’s Brussels bureau, before moving to its fastft team, in London.
Katie Martin, head of fastft, described him as “a warm, funny person and a talented young journalist with a curious mind… a joy to be around, truly, with an impish sense of humour”.
‘A local fisherman who was about 20 meters away had seen the crocodile entering into the water’
‘The desk to my left is empty. This is a sad time. My heart goes out to friends and family of the charming Paul’
“Paul spent his last days in the office laughing at stupid stuff on the internet and trying to convince me he looked like Daniel Craig.”
She said, adding: “The desk to my left is now empty. This is a sad time. My heart goes to the friends and family of the charming Paul Mcclean.”
Mr Mcclean described himself as a “long-suffering Evertonian” and the club yesterday paid its own tribute, stating: “Everyone at Everton is deeply saddened to hear of the untimely passing of Evertonian and FT reporter Paul Mcclean.”
Experts said that while attacks by crocodiles on humans remain rare the threat is growing as the creatures come into increasing contact with humans as a result of threats to their native habitat from mudslides and floods.
Following the monsoon rains last May, Sri Lankan government officials issued warnings for people to look out for stray crocodiles in floodwaters.
Jigar Upadhyay, a researcher on human-crocodile interaction, based in Gujarat, India, said: “It’s very unusual for a crocodile to go after a human. What could have happened is that he wandered into a nesting area by accident and the crocodile was protecting any hatchlings. Any human would obviously be terrified – resulting in an unknowingly more threatening gesture to the animal.”