A crocodile-feeding demonstration at a popular wildlife park turned into a horrifying fight for survival when the animal seized its handler by the legs and dragged him into the water in front of stunned visitors.

The attack occurred Saturday afternoon at Adventure Park in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

The employee had reportedly approached the enclosure carrying a chicken when the crocodile suddenly struck, trapping his legs between its powerful jaws.

Harrowing footage captured the handler clinging desperately to the edge of the pool while people outside the enclosure attempted to save him. At one point, he held onto a pole extended by a witness as the crocodile continued pulling him into the water.

Another person later grabbed the handler’s arms and tried to prevent the animal from dragging him farther away.

Despite the frantic rescue effort, the worker remained trapped for more than an hour, according to reports.

He was eventually freed and rushed to the hospital—but died from his injuries the following morning.

“He Couldn’t Scream”

Eyewitness Gibson John said the attack began when the employee brought food toward the fence.

“The crocodile attacked the person and tried to bring him into the pool,” John told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

What followed was a prolonged and agonizing ordeal.

John said the handler was clearly suffering but could barely make a sound.

“He was in severe pain, but he couldn’t scream,” the witness recalled. “He couldn’t speak properly at that time. It was the pain I could see from his eyes.”

According to John, the only words he could clearly hear were: “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

A large crowd had gathered near the enclosure as the disaster unfolded. Video from the scene showed people attempting to assist while the handler groaned in pain and struggled to remain above the water.

Police were ultimately called to intervene.

Officers reportedly shot the crocodile before rescuers could finally free the employee. Visitors were ushered away from the area as emergency teams worked to remove the critically injured man.

Rushed to Hospital After Lengthy Ordeal

John said he was later told that the handler had lost one of his legs before being transported by St John Ambulance to 3 Mile General Hospital.

That detail was attributed to the witness and had not been independently confirmed in the initial official reporting.

Medical personnel fought to save the man, but his injuries proved fatal. He died Sunday morning.

The employee, whose name was not immediately released publicly, was reportedly from the Western Islands in northern Papua New Guinea. He had worked at Adventure Park for approximately two years.

Staff members gathered at a funeral home Sunday as news of his death spread.

The park subsequently closed to the public until further notice, posting a sign at the entrance announcing that visitors would not be admitted.

Questions Surround Feeding Demonstrations

Adventure Park is promoted by Papua New Guinea’s official tourism website as a major family attraction offering rides, gardens, wildlife and outdoor activities.

Its crocodile-feeding demonstrations feature employees working in close proximity to the reptiles.

Saturday’s fatal attack is likely to raise urgent questions about the safety procedures surrounding those encounters—including the design of the enclosure, the distance between employees and animals, emergency protocols and whether handlers had adequate protection.

The supplied report did not identify the crocodile’s species or size. It also did not establish whether the animal behaved unexpectedly, whether a barrier failed or whether another factor contributed to the attack.

No formal finding of negligence has been reported.

Crocodiles are powerful ambush predators capable of launching explosive attacks over short distances. Once one secures its jaws around a person, escape can be extraordinarily difficult—particularly in water, where the animal has a decisive advantage.

That danger became terrifyingly visible in the footage from Port Moresby.

A Public Demonstration Becomes a Nightmare

Families had arrived expecting an afternoon of entertainment and close encounters with wildlife.

Instead, they witnessed a worker fighting for his life as the animal he was attempting to feed pulled him into its pool.

The video preserves the desperation of those moments: a pole extended toward the trapped man, hands gripping his arms and bystanders refusing to release him even as the crocodile maintained its hold.

The rescue eventually succeeded in removing him from the enclosure, but it came too late to save his life.

Authorities and park officials had not publicly released a detailed account explaining how the attack was allowed to continue for so long or what changes would be made before the attraction reopened.

For the handler’s colleagues, those questions now accompany profound grief.

He arrived at work Saturday to perform a familiar task at a place advertised as a destination for family fun.

By Sunday morning, he was dead—and a horrified crowd was left with memories of a struggle none of them expected to witness.