Police hunt crocodile that killed girl, 10

A huge crocodile knocked over a canoe in a southern Philippines lake and decapitated a 10-year-old girl, police have said.

The girl and a classmate were on their way to their floating school on Mihaba Lake in Agusan del Sur province when the crocodile bumped the boat, causing it to capsize, Bunawan town police officer Melchor Danuco said.

The attack happened on Saturday but it wasn’t until Monday that rescuers found the girl’s headless body floating on the lake.

The classmate was rescued by a man escorting the pair in another boat, said Ruel Hipulan, head of the private group that runs the school in the remote town.

“It’s a monster crocodile,” Mr Hipulan said, adding that officials were hunting the animal following the attack.

Police said that, based on accounts of villagers, the crocodile might be as long as 23 feet, which would be huge, even for the large salt water crocodiles known to inhabit the lake.

The crocodile attack has prompted the temporary closure of the school and the evacuation of about 100 residents of houses on stilts on the lake, Mr Hipulan added.