Crocodile bites off woman's arm in 'death roll' at popular Australian creek

During a death roll a crocodile spins and twists to rip off the top of its pray

A Saltwater Crocodile pictured in Australia (Getty)

A crocodile is set to be destroyed after biting off a woman’s arm in a “death roll” at a creek.

The woman, in her 60s, was attacked by the animal at Three Mile Creek in Wyndham, 2,000 miles north of Perth, on Wednesday afternoon, Western Australia’s County Health service told AFP news agency.

She was flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital in a stable condition and underwent surgery on the same day.

Eyewitness Paul Cavanagh, said his nephew and son-in-law, who were near the creek at the time, took the woman to hospital after noticing she was missing her arm just above the elbow.

Mr Cavanagh told WA Today: "She was standing on the side of the road just shocked.”

Michael Snowball, a cafe owner who witnessed the incident told AFP the woman was beside the creek when the crocodile "came out of the water and grabbed her and did a death roll and took her arm off near the elbow."

During a death roll a crocodile spins and twists to rip off the top of its pray.

A Department of Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said the crocodile could not be found, but is believed to be of the salt water variety, which can grow up to seven metres long.

"We've got crews on site trying to locate the animal. If that doesn't happen, we'll soon be getting fresh crews in to come and deploy a trap with a view to trapping and destroying the animal," she told AFP.

The Northern Territory Government estimates the national crocodile population is around 100,000. The creatures kill around two people a year in the country.

In December saltwater crocodiles were reportedly seen swimming in floodwater in the Northern Territories, with some residents claiming the creatures dragged dogs into the excess rain water.

In June, Australia proposed plans to allow wealthy individuals to hunt saltwater crocodiles, suggesting people may pay up to £15,000 to kill the reptiles in the Northern Territories.