A 54-year-old woman narrowly survived a life-threatening encounter after fighting off a saltwater crocodile that attacked her while she was washing dishes in a river near Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park on Wednesday, according to forest officials.
The attack occurred at Petachela village under the Mahakalapada forest range in Kendrapara district.
Chabi Bhukta had entered into the Ramachandi river to clean her utensils when a crocodile suddenly grabbed onto her hand and attempted to pull her into the deeper part of the river.
Recounting the harrowing ordeal from her hospital bed at the Mahakalapada Community Health Centre, Bhukta explained that she cried out for assistance and resisted the predator by poking at the reptile’s eyes with a spoon she was holding.
“The crocodile caught my hand and began pulling me into the water. I screamed and struck its eyes with a spoon. It eventually loosened its hold, which gave me the chance to get away,” she recounted in a weak voice.
Doctors said Bhukta sustained injuries to her hands, legs and abdomen and is currently undergoing treatment.
This encounter follows a fatal incident nearly two months ago, where a 54-year-old fisherman from Kansala village was killed by a crocodile while fishing in the Gobari river on March 11.
Forest department officials said that human-crocodile conflicts have seen a worrying surge in the communities bordering Bhitarkanika National Park over the last few years.
According to official data, estuarine crocodiles have killed four people in the last 14 months, 14 people over the past three years, and a total of 30 people over the last 48 months.
Manas Kumar Das, the Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) for Bhitarkanika, explained that attacks typically spike during the mating and nesting season from May to July, as the reptiles often venture onto land to lay eggs.
He added that the forest department has installed protective barricades at roughly 120 river ghats in the area and has urged local residents to only use these secured water access points.
According to the January 2026 reptile census, Bhitarkanika is home to 1,858 saltwater crocodiles.
