A British woman has described beating a crocodile on its snout while it grabbed her other hand as she fought to save her twin sister from the reptile.
Georgia Laurie, 28, said she feared her sister, Melissa, was dead when she saw the crocodile drag her underwater after they went for a swim in a lagoon in Mexico.
“I heard her scream and I saw her being taken underneath by the crocodile. Then I realised she was really in trouble when I was calling out her name and there was no response from her,” she told the BBC.
Her sister continues to recover in hospital from injuries sustained in the attack at the lagoon, about 10 miles from the Mexican city of Puerto Escondido. She developed sepsis and had to be placed in a coma but has since come out of it and is recovering.
“The adrenaline kicked in. I saw her body floating and I thought, at that moment, she was no longer with us,” Georgia said in the BBC interview on Friday. “I grabbed her body, pulled it towards me and rested her on my chest. She was blue so I tried to revive her, but the crocodile came along so I beat it off.”
Asked if she felt like a hero, she said: “It’s a difficult one. I don’t. I think maybe that comes down to self-esteem.
“If someone told me the same story, I’d say, ‘Wow! That’s so brave of you, you’re a hero!’ But it’s hard to believe compliments yourself when someone says these things to you.”
She said the attack was surreal and an “out-of-body experience” Of her sister, she added: “She fought for her own life, as well. She really fought and clung on.”
The twins, from Berkshire, had been volunteering with animals in Mexico when the incident took place in the first week of June. Their older sister, Hana Laurie, has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for their medical bills and fly their parents to Mexico. More than £43,000 has been raised so far.
In an update on the page, Hana said: “It turns out Melissa is a little bit like Terminator or Wolverine or something, and has unbelievable strength and healing skills.
“She’s managed to stand and do a short walk in the hospital, and we’re confident she won’t need physio on the leg that was bitten.
“The sepsis is no issue any more (not sure whether totally gone or just very manageable) and she’s got a big smile on her face.”
The twins were said to be keen to use any leftover funds from the appeal to help the community in Puerto Escondido.
