A schoolboy is believed to have been eaten alive by a crocodile while he was playing with his friends in a river.

Antonio Cardejon III, 10, had gone to the water after helping his dad with chores in Palawan province, the Philippines on Sunday morning.

While taking a dip in the wide Canipaan River, the beast pounced on the unwitting youngster dragging him into the depths - just yards from his family's home on the outskirts of Rizal town.

Antonio's shocked friends scattered as the beast's large tail struck one of the group while it was thrashing around in the shallows. They frantically paddled out of the river and sprinted across the bank to call for help.

Villager Elsa Echavez, a resident who lives next to the river, said: 'The boys told us they would just go for a swim in the water. Antonio had just finished helping his dad move their carabao.

'I was sitting here in my house and resting after eating when I saw a huge wave rippling on the water. After that, my son came running to me and telling me his friend had gone missing.

'My children told me the crocodile was quite big and its hide was black. There really are a lot of crocodile here where we live. We always tell the kids to be careful.'

Residents claimed to have seen the deadly predator surfacing later that afternoon while clenching Antonio's severely mauled body in its jaws. It reportedly tried to swim upstream but drifted around near the community when it encountered powerful currents.

The local disaster office said it has launched a search and retrieval operation after coordinating with the relevant environmental agencies. They have given up home and finding Antonio alive.

Anthony Lorenzo, head of the Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office said: 'After the incident, we immediately coordinated with wildlife rescue teams and the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office for the search and rescue which started on Monday.

'We will continue scouring the rivers in Barangay Canipaan until we find the missing boy.'

Antonio's family said they hope to retrieve his body so they can give him a proper burial.

Data from Crocodylus Porosus Philippines Incorporated (CPPI), a non-government organisation conducting a survey of crocodiles in Palawan province, said there were 33 sightings of the reptiles in Canipaan river in June 2022 .

CPPI researcher Rainier Manalo said the crocodiles are likely hunting for food to feed their young after the end of their hatchling period.