A horrifying incident unfolded in Maluku, Indonesia when a 54-year-old grandmother, Halima Rahakbauw, was attacked by a crocodile while washing dishes in the Wali River. The event took place Tuesday morning, August 20 while she was cleaning up after a meal, a routine task that ultimately led to her death.
According to her family, Halima, a local villager, had ventured to the river in the early morning to gather shellfish and wash dishes. Jamia Seknun, a relative of Halima, conveyed that Halima had left early to avoid the river level rising by midday.
Around 10:30 a.m., a man named Ali Rahangmetan noticed an unusual disturbance in the water while crossing the Wali Bridge. Initially, he believed he saw someone swimming, but he soon realized the situation was far graver. Ali described the harrowing scene, stating, “I saw someone swimming, but I couldn’t see their body. Only their legs were visible. To make sure, I went out of my car and finally saw that it was a human being eaten by a crocodile. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. Only the legs and intestines of the person were visible.”
After making the gruesome discovery, Ali promptly notified the local authorities, who initiated an immediate search for Halima. Her family had already reported her absence when she failed to return home from the river. The police searched the riverbanks in an effort to locate her, eventually capturing a female crocodile, approximately 14 feet long, which was still in the process of consuming Halima’s body.
The authorities killed the crocodile and, with assistance from local villagers, retrieved Halima’s remains from the predator’s stomach. A villager reported seeing “a leg hanging out of its mouth” when the crocodile was captured.
Indonesia hosts a variety of crocodile species, including the notoriously aggressive saltwater crocodile. Recently, the crocodile population has been moving closer to human settlements, a trend attributed to over-fishing and habitat loss. The decreasing availability of natural prey has compelled these dangerous reptiles to venture further inland for sustenance, resulting in fatal encounters with humans.
This tragic event is not unique in Indonesia. Earlier this month, an Australian man named Dave Hogbin, aged 40, was killed by a crocodile in Far North Queensland while fishing with his family. He was pulled under the water in front of his terrified family; rangers later managed to locate and kill the crocodile. In 2018, a crowd in Papua slaughtered nearly 300 crocodiles in retaliation for a local man’s death caused by one of the reptiles.
Despite Indonesia’s development, many locals still depend on rivers for daily activities, such as bathing, fishing, and washing, which increases the risk of crocodile attacks. Rural communities are particularly prone to these threats, often due to minimal safety measures and lack of awareness about the predators.
There have been calls for the Indonesian government to implement stronger protective measures and raise awareness to prevent future attacks. However, as human activities continue to encroach on crocodile habitats, such incidents are likely to continue. At present, local authorities are investigating Halima’s death and collaborating with wildlife experts to manage the growing crocodile threat in the area.
The Wali River, a long-standing source of sustenance for the village, has now become a site of sheer terror. For Halima Rahakbauw’s family, this tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the hidden dangers that exist in the river they have relied on for generations.
