Tourist attacked by crocodile on river boat tour in Australia

Woman attacked by crocodile while on boat cruise in Australia

A woman has been attacked by a crocodile while swimming in a rock pool on the Prince Regent River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The Australian tourist, thought to be in her 50s, was a passenger on a Kimberley Discovery Cruises charter boat tour.

She was swimming in a rockpool at around midday on Friday when the attack happened.

According to ABC News, a spokeswoman for the boat tour company, Jill Moffitt, said the woman received non-life-threatening facial injuries and was "lucky" not to have been critically or fatally injured.

She added that the rock pool was above the water line, and that it was a "total surprise" there was a crocodile in there, with it being considered safe by most tour groups.

It is thought the reptile may have been swept in by a high tide and then been unable to get out.

The woman was flown by seaplane to Koolan Island, from where the Royal Flying Doctor Service took her on to Broome for treatment.

The Guardian reports that the woman was a week into a 13-day cruise of the 100km river.

Moffit told the paper: "The group were having a dip and this lady was attacked. But she is OK, she is not in a life-threatening condition, and she was able to walk and talk."

However, she added: "It's pretty traumatic to have a crocodile have a go at you."

In 2014, there were four fatal crocodile attacks in the Northern Territory. But there has not been a fatal crocodile attack in WA since 1987, when American model Ginger Meadows was killed while swimming with her boyfriend in the same river as Friday's attack.