A CROCODILE killed and ate a young girl in front of her horrified friends while out swimming.

       Suci Ramadhani, 8, was swallowed by the beast - despite the fact that hero locals stabbed it with a spear during the attack on the Indonesian island of Buru.

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       The young girl was attacked by a saltwater crocodile Credit: Getty - Contributor

       According to reports she had been bathing in the Teluk Kayeli river with pals on wednesday.

       Her friends then watched helplessly as she was snatched by the scaled reptile.

       Search and rescue official Korpos Rahmad Namlea told The Star that locals managed to spear the croc while the young girl's head was still visible in its mouth.

       However when they cut into the stomach of the crocodile the remains of the girl were not inside.

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       Her remains were only discovered two days later.

       Namlea said: "The river is known to be infested with saltwater crocodiles.

       “At least two crocodile attacks have occurred in the past 10 years."

       The beasts can grow up to 20ft in length and can weight up to 2,370lbs.

       Saltwater crocodiles are apex predators that use ambushes to seize their prey from riverbanks, before drowning it and then swallowing the animal - or person - whole.

       Indonesian locals slaughtered 300 crocodiles back in July 2018 in a string of revenge attacks after a man was eaten in West Papau.

       Back in March a boy, eight, was cut from a croc's stomach after the 26ft-long beast swallowed him whole - also in Indonesia.

       Dimas Mulkan Saputra was dragged into murky water as his dad frantically swam after the huge reptile, say reports.

       The boy had been fishing with his father, Subliansyah, when he strayed further from the shore.

       Meanwhile The remains of a fourteen-year-old boy were retrieved from inside a crocodile's belly after he was eaten alive.

       In 2020, Ricky Ganya was last seen collecting snails on a riverbank in Kuching, Malaysia when the croc pounced, clamped its jaws on his ankle and dragged him underwater.

       The boy's aunt, who witnessed the horrifying attack, called for help and the emergency services arrived.

       They then used a chicken as bait to lure the 14ft croc out of the water, about three miles from where the teen was last seen.

       An officer from the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Operations Centre said: "The crocodile was pulled onto the shore where its stomach was checked.

       “Sadly, there were human remains inside and these were identified as belonging to the missing teenager.''

       Incredible video shows Australia's most notorious crocodile attack as 14foot beast dragged dad from his tent and mauled him