(CNN) Two best friends, both in their 70s, were crabbing near Darwin in Australia's North Territory when their boat was nudged by a saltwater crocodile and capsized, causing the drowning of one of the men, according to CNN affiliate Seven Network.

Ray Mccomber and Noel Ramage tried to climb onto the capsized boat and Ramage drowned in the process, according to Ian Badham, the director of CareFlight, an aeromedical charity that contributed to the survivor's rescue.

"Saltwater crocodiles are serious. They're big animals, powerful animals." said Badham,

Mccomber was eventually able to take shelter among mangroves, but had to battle multiple crocodiles with spanners (or wrenches as they're known in the United States) and spark plugs before being rescued.

A CareFlight helicopter seen near the scene of a crocodile attack near Darwin.

He hit one crocodile on the head with a spanner and took spark plugs from the boat's outboard motor to throw at other crocodiles that also attacked the boat. Badham said the man didn't say exactly how many crocodiles there were.

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