A Protestant pastor has been killed by a crocodile during a baptism ceremony in an Ethiopian lake, the BBC has reported.

Docho Eshete and about 80 members of his congregation had gathered at the southern end of Lake Abaya on Sunday morning, close to a national park where enormous crocodiles have been seen covering the shore.

A crocodile shows aggression as a boat passes by, in a file picture. Credit:AP

Normally, the animals are a tourist draw. But the London Telegraph reported that Lake Abaya has lately experienced a shortage of fish, and the crocodiles have become aggressive towards humans, who have little chance to see them in the lake's murky red waters.

"He baptised the first person and he passed on to another one," a resident of the nearby town of Arba Minch told the BBC's Amharic language service.