A Protestant pastor was fatally attacked by a crocodile as he baptized followers at a lake in Ethiopia. Witnesses told CBS News partner network BBC News' Ethiopian service BBC Amharic that the croc leapt out of Lake Abaya, in the country's south, and bit Pastor Docho Eshete on Sunday.

Others at the scene tried to help him, and managed to fend off the crocodile, but the pastor died from the wounds to his legs, back and hands.

"He baptized the first person and he passed on to another one. All of a sudden, a crocodile jumped out of the lake and grabbed the pastor," resident Ketema Kairo told the BBC Amharic service.

Lake Abaya is located in Arba Minch town's Merkeb Tabya district, about 225 miles south of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

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Locals and others tried to capture the croc with fishing nets but it escaped.