Crocodile attack on zookeeper in Australia caught on video

Camera footage shows the horrifying moment a crocodile attacked a zookeeper at a zoo in Australia - dragging him into the water in its enclosure.

Trent Burton had been performing a regular feeding time show at Shoalhaven Zoo when the terrifying incident occurred.

A couple of zoo visitors caught the moment the crocodile locked its jaws around Trent Burton's hand on camera.

Just before the attack occurs, Mr Burton can be heard saying to the crowd,: "He's big when he comes out of the water, isn't he?"

Mr Burton was seconds later dragged by the hand into that water to the sound of horrified screams in the background.

He managed to wriggle free and escaped the incident with a 10cm gash in the palm of his left hand and a broken knuckle on the right.

Speaking to Seven News, Mr Burton said: "A very dumb small brain fart on my part - it seems more dumb when you watch it. I was fighting for my life."

Shoalhaven Zoo owner Nick Schilko told the Daily Mail: "Trent was feeding the croc... He flipped the food at his (the crocodile's) face. He caught it in his mouth and as he's tried to flick it up to put it in his mouth further, Trent tried to reached and take it out of his mouth.

"He was beating himself up over what he did. Basically his hand got caught in the moment... the crocodile has gone bonus and started backing up to the water and dragged him all the way into the water."

Speaking to the Australian Daily Telegraph, Mr Schilko added: "I'm not going to sugar-coat it (the crocodile bite) - it could have been fatal. Trent did something he shouldn't have done. You can't reach back into a crocodile's mouth."

Witness Marlene Orr told The Sun: "It was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life. We saw the trainer taken by the crocodile.

"I've seen them in the wild, lying on river banks and have seen them at Steve Irwin's Zoo, but never like this. It was too scary."

Mr Schilko added that Trent will be welcome back at work as soon as he is ready.

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