A person has managed to prise a crocodile's jaws from round his head when he was attacked close to a luxurious resort in Queensland, Australia.

Marcus McGown was snorkelling about 17 miles (28km) off Haggerstone Island in Cape York when the reptile struck.

"While checking out some coral and fish and talking to a fellow snorkeller, I was attacked from behind by a saltwater crocodile which got its jaws around my head," he mentioned in a press release.

"I thought it was a shark but when I reached up, I realised it was a crocodile.

"I used to be in a position to lever its jaws open simply far sufficient to get my head out.

"The crocodile then attempted to attack me a second time, but I managed to push it away with my right hand, which was then bitten by the croc."

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Mr McGowan, 51, mentioned he was in a position to swim again to the boat and was later flown by helicopter to Cairns for therapy of scalp accidents and puncture wounds.

"Crocodiles in the open ocean can be difficult to locate as the animals often travel tens of kilometres per day," Queensland's environmental division mentioned.

Australian media mentioned it was the fifth crocodile assault within the area up to now few months.

Crocodiles could be present in each freshwater and saltwater in Queensland, together with rivers, swamps, oceans, and the offshore islands of the Great Barrier Reef.