A 28-year-old Mexican tourist was killed after being attacked by a large crocodile at a popular beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The incident occurred at Marina Vallarta Beach around 6:30 p.m. local time on Friday.
Witnesses describe traumatic scene
A couple from California, Jamie Yetter and her fiancé Chris Bury, along with their teenage daughter, were at a nearby hotel pool when they heard screams from the beach. Bury described the event as “pretty traumatising.”
“We thought we saw a guy stuck in a rip current, so Chris took off down to the water, and I ran right after him,” Yetter told NBC Los Angeles.
Rescue attempts fail
Bury said he threw a life ring toward the man, but he was unable to grab it because he appeared to be in shock. When someone brought a kayak, Bury attempted to paddle out to the victim despite having no oars.
“There were no oars. There was really nothing at the beach at all to help. We were just scrambling, trying to do what we could,” Bury said. “I was on the kayak right when he got pulled under. He went down, and then, at that point, he stayed down. So I was over top of him, but the water was so murky, and you couldn’t even see a foot down. So by the time I got to him, it was unfortunately too late.”
Crocodile described as enormous
Bury said the crocodile was enormous. “His head was as long as my torso, his tail thicker than my legs. He was just turning him, taking him under,” he said. The victim’s body was recovered on Saturday morning. Authorities later located the crocodile near Boca de Tomates, a short distance from the attack site.
Previous incident in same area
Local authorities said the man had been at the beach with a group of friends. Friday’s attack occurred near the same beach where two Colorado men were attacked by a crocodile in July 2022.
