Pictured: Elderly man who died in croc attack after boat capsized
The first pictures have emerged of two Bendigo men involved in a holiday trip which turned to tragedy after a crocodile tipped their 3.2m metal tinnie and one of the mates lost their lives.
Best friends Ray Mccomber and Noel Ramage, both in their 70s, were thrown into the water when a croc flipped their fishing boat in Saltwater Arm, approximately 46km northeast of Darwin.
The tragedy occurred while the men were catching mudcrabs and barramundi on Monday afternoon.
Noel had just found out two weeks ago he was cancer and had decided to join his best mate for the fishing trip.
Photos of the tinnie reveal an esky, chair and other nic nacs which the friends had taken on their day out.
Noel was sitting at the back of the tinnie and yelled ‘croc Macca’ just before it rammed and flipped the boat, sending them both into the water.
Noel had been crabbing near Darwin every year for the past six years but he wasn't wearing a lifejacket and couldn't swim.
He became trapped inside the upturned boat and drowned.
Ray hid in a mangrove and finally turned the boat upright to find Noel dead inside.
For three hours Ray used tools from the boat including spark plugs, flares, pliers and spanners to protect himself from the advancing crocs before passing fishermen came to help.
The men helped to retrieve Noel's body and brought him to shore.
Without mobile phone reception, the men had to drive 17km to Leaders Creek Fishing Base, where they phoned police.
Ray was taken to hospital suffering shock and is still too upset to talk to police about the incident.
Local fishermen in the region have raised concerns about the size of the fishing boat the men were out in.
Local fisherman Tony Geranis told 7 News: “This is Darwin, you know, crocodiles everywhere.
“Very small dingy. I dunno how safe it was. I wouldn't have been in the water with a dingy like that, they shouldn't have a boat like that."
Leaders Creek Fishing Camp spokesman Brian Bulne added: “They're taking big risks going out there in small boats like this, they could easily tip the boat over.”
Ray has been released from Darwin Hospital and is now recovering from leg wounds and shock at Noel's sons house in Darwin.
Back in Bendigo, Noel's granddaughter Charlie Bowland told 7 News her pop was a ‘very special family man’.
“He was fun, out there loving caring had a heart of gold, always there if I ever needed him.”
7 News spoke to the victim’s son David who lives just outside Darwin and he said he wanted his father to be remembered as a ‘good and caring man’.
Posting on Facebook David wrote: "Rip dad. Love you so so much."
Tributes flowed for Noel, of Golden Square, Victoria, who was a loyal member of the Kangaroo Flats Rotary Club and was always willing to lend a helping hand to the community.
“Noel truly stood for what Rotary stands for. His work in the community was far reaching and he had the time for everyone,” the tribute said.
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“Whenever there was a bbq, Noel was there, whenever there was a need for a bar tender, he was the first to put his hand.”
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“Noel made people feel welcome. He wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed and would support any one in their time of need.
“Noel was fighting cancer at the time of his passing but if you didn’t know, there would be no outward signs of his struggle.”
Friends and colleagues wrote on the tribute that Noel's passing was a "tragedy".
ABC News reported it was not the first time a crocodile behaving in such a bold an deliberate manner in the Northern Territory.
The 2015 coroner's inquest into Bill Scott's death at Kakadu, found a croc had destabilised the boat, forcing the man to stumble before he was attacked and dragged overboard.
