Crocodile sighted in Cainta floodwaters


[SIZE=2]10/01/2009

Floods covering large parts of Manila have brought a new intruder — a crocodile, which was seen swimming in a village on the outskirts of the Philippine capital, local television reported yesterday.

Top broadcaster ABS-CBN quoted local residents as saying that they spotted the five-foot long crocodile late Monday as they made their way through flooded streets in Cainta town.

Resident Michael Lambert said he and his friends saw a floating object which they thought might be a tire.

"It was pitch black. There was no electricity or whatever. But we had a flashlight. We trained our flashlight on the thing and saw that it was a crocodile," Lambert told the television station.

The group took refuge on a mound of soil and Lambert took a picture which he posted on his Facebook page. It shows a partially submerged object that resembles a crocodile floating beside some houses.

Lambert suggested that the animal may have escaped from a zoo during the floods unleashed when tropical storm "Ondoy" hit the country last Saturday.

However, some officials said it may have simply been washed out of a nearby swamp by the floods.

ABS-CBN quoted local police as confirming that a crocodile was roaming Cainta but gave no details.

Crocodiles are indigenous to the Philippines but are rarely seen near inhabited areas.

Saturday’s flooding, the worst in the country in 40 years, killed at least 246 people and affected 2.25 million people, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said in its latest report. AFP
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