An Odisha woman fought off a crocodile with nothing but a cooking bowl and a ladle and escaped with her life.
Thirty-seven-year-old Sabitri Samal, a resident of Odisha's Kendrapara district, was attacked by a crocodile while she was washing utensils at a creek near her house on Friday.
The housewife, who was almost dragged into the water by the reptile, bravely fought for her life with what she had at hand - an aluminium cooking bowl and a cooking stick. She is now recuperating in a hospital.
"The creek where I was washing utensils was never intruded by crocodiles. None of us had sighted the reptile in the past. The attack was so sudden that I had little time to react. An aluminium cooking bowl and cooking stick that I had brought from home to wash saved me from death," Samal was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
She called her escape from the jaws of the crocodile 'miraculous', stating that she had 'taken it for granted' that the animal would kill her.
"It was a miraculous escape. The reptile jumped on me and dragged me to water. I was about to be completely dragged into the water when I hit the crocodile on its forehead and eye. The animal slowly released me," she recalled.
The forest department has reportedly praised the woman for her bravery, according to The Statesman, and will also bear the cost of her treatment.
Crocodile attacks have reportedly increased in the vicinity of the Bhitarkanika National Park in recent months, with at least two people being killed.
Forest officials have said that such attacks occur when people enter crocodile-infested waters.
