AN eight-year-old boy has been mauled to death by a crocodile just metres from his family home in Malaysia.
The boy was swimming in a river with a friend on Thursday when the incident occurred.
Rescuers were able to recover his body from the water but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The boy, who lived in the state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, had been swimming in the Kampung Sabah Baru river.
The attack occurred just after 1.30pm local time.
The boy’s friend, also eight, was able to scramble out of the water and alert the boy’s father, who lived near to where the boys had been playing.
The father then called emergency services and rescuers attended.
A search was mounted, and the boy’s lifeless body was eventually recovered from the water around two hours after the attack, not far from where he had last been seen.
Police spokesperson Rohan Shah Ahmad said: “The victim was attacked about 20 metres away from his home.
“There were severe injuries on the boy’s body including his waist, chest and stomach.
“He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
The boy’s body was sent to a local hospital for a post-mortem.
The incident is reportedly the second crocodile attack to have occurred in the area within a week.
On December 4, a teenage boy was looking for clams when he was attacked.
He escaped with non-fatal injuries after friends were able to fight the crocodile off.
Traps have reportedly been set up in the area to catch the animal.