Narendra Tomar, 18, was attacked by crocodiles in Chambal River on Sunday.

BHOPAL: Villagers struggled in vain to drag a youth from a crocodile's jaws off Chambal River in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.

Narendra Tomar, 18, had gone to swim in deep waters at Nagra Ghat area when he was taken by crocodiles, said police. He was a resident of Nagra village.

"Some of the eyewitnesses tried to grab and drag him to safety but they failed," police said adding Tomar was wading in deep waters when crocodiles attacked.

The incident took place around 11am. He had gone for a swim after attending the funeral rites of his grandfather. Tomar was aware that Chambal River is a known habitat of crocodiles, villagers told police.

Police reached the spot after receiving the information. It took more than six hours for the divers to reach the location. They also refused to dive-in citing threat from crocodiles.

Searches were still on for the missing person till the filing of this report. More such incidents were reported from Chambal river which is the only remaining water reservoir for protected crocodiles, ghariyals and dolphins in Central India. It is said to be a home to more than 500 crocodiles.

