A woman narrowly escaped death after fighting off a saltwater crocodile that attacked her while she was washing utensils in a river near Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park on Wednesday, forest officials said.
The incident took place at Petachela village under Mahakalapada forest range in Kendrapara district.
Chabi Bhukta (54) had entered Ramachandi river for washing utensils when the crocodile suddenly grabbed her hand and tried to drag her into deep waters.
Recalling the terrifying encounter from her bed at Mahakalapada Community Health Centre, Bhukta said she screamed for help and fought back by attacking the reptile’s eyes with a spoon she was carrying.
“The crocodile caught my hand and started dragging me into the river. I shouted and struck its eyes with a spoon. After that, it loosened its grip, allowing me to escape,” she said in a feeble voice.
She sustained injuries to her hands, legs and abdomen and is currently undergoing treatment, doctors said.
The incident comes barely two months after a 54-year-old fisherman from Kansala village near Bhitarkanika was killed by a crocodile while fishing in the Gobari river on March 11.
Forest officials said incidents of human-crocodile conflicts have increased alarmingly in villages surrounding Bhitarkanika National Park in recent years.
According to official data, estuarine crocodiles have killed four persons in the past 14 months, 14 people in the last three years and 30 people over the past 48 months.
Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Bhitarkanika, Manas Kumar Das said crocodile attacks generally rise during the mating and nesting season between May and July, when the reptiles frequently move onto land for laying eggs.
He said the forest department has barricaded around 120 river ghats around Bhitarkanika and advised villagers to use only protected water access points.
According to the January 2026 reptile census, Bhitarkanika is home to 1,858 saltwater crocodiles.