British journalist killed by crocodile during holiday in SL

15 September 2017 10:58 am

A Financial Times journalist has died after he was dragged underwater by a crocodile while on holiday in Sri Lanka, foreign media reported.

Paul McClean, 25, has been identified as the British man killed by the animal in a lagoon known as Crocodile Rock.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan police said in a statement that a British national, who went to bathe in the sea at Panama with a group of friends, had gone missing and the police and the navy were searching for the missing person.

According to the Telegraph, it is believed that Mr McClean left his friends to go to the toilet, and the beast ambushed him when he dipped his hands into the water to wash them.

One of his colleagues at the FT told the Telegraph: ‘We’re all totally stunned. He was a great kid, an Everton fan, super bright. It’s an absolute tragedy.’

Mr McClean grew up in Thames Ditton, Surrey, and graduated from Oxford University with a First in French in 2015.

Witnesses of the incident reportedly saw him ‘waving his hands in the air’ in desperation before he was pulled below the surface by the crocodile.

It is believed he only arrived in the country a few days before.

A Scot who is on holiday in the area but wished to remain anonymous said: ‘People last saw his arms in the air in the water and then was grabbed under. I was there but didn’t see it happen though. Horrible.