The search continues for a 12-year-old girl believed to have been taken by a crocodile in remote Palumpa in the Northern Territory.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Police and emergency services are battling challenging conditions as they continue a
00:06desperate search for a 12-year-old girl who has now been missing for well over 24 hours.
00:12There are grave concerns for her well-being after she went missing around 5.30pm on Tuesday
00:19afternoon.
00:20What police have told us is the girl was enjoying bush holidays and afternoon swim with her
00:25family at Mango Creek which is just a few kilometres outside the remote community of
00:30Palumpa.
00:31Now, witnesses also told police they saw a large black crocodile and it is alleged that
00:37young girl was attacked by that crocodile.
00:39Extremely concerning circumstances which sparked a very swift response from police.
00:45Local officers are now accompanied by specialist police who are combing through that area both
00:50on foot and in boats.
00:52The area they're searching isn't expansive but it's very challenging, a narrow winding
00:57creek with mangroves.
00:59The water, we've been told, is very dark and also very deep.
01:02A helicopter has also been deployed in the hopes of being able to see something from
01:06above but certainly very challenging circumstances for police and rescue teams.
01:12Given the circumstances surrounding this young girl's disappearance, it has been an extremely
01:17distressing time for both the community and her family involved.
01:21We spoke to the police officer who is in charge of this search mission and has been
01:25speaking with the family throughout this difficult time.
01:29It's really confronting, it's difficult and it's extremely sad.
01:33The immediate family are highly distressed as you can understand.
01:37The community is rallying together to provide support for that family but it's also very
01:44distressing and very confronting for police officers who are assisting in the search.
01:50What we also know is Mango Creek is a popular swimming spot and like so many of the rivers
01:56and waterways here in the top end of the Northern Territory, crocodiles are a very real risk.
02:02This is not the first time the community has experienced a crocodile attack, although the
02:06last time we had a facial crocodile attack in the Northern Territory was back in 2018.
02:12So police are taking this opportunity to urge the community to be croc-wise, be careful
02:18where and where you swim.
02:20This is a very pertinent example of just how dangerous a quick dip can be.