A mother and her daughter were rescued after being attacked by a crocodile while washing clothes in a river in Indonesia.

Raminten, 38, went to the Marbau River in the North Labuhan Batu Regency (Labura) in North Sumatra on May 19 to wash the family's laundry, while her daughter Kaisyah, 9, tagged along to play in the water.

While the mum was busy with the chores, she suddenly heard Kaisyah shrieking, and turned to see the child flailing in the water - a huge croc having caught the youngster by her leg.

The reptile dragged Kaisyah some 10 metres into the river while desperate Raminten ran and bravely fought the predator. As the housewife shouted for help, the crocodile turned its attention and sank its teeth into her leg.

The pair's screams alerted nearby residents, who jumped into the river to subdue the ferocious creature. Raminten and Kaisyah were pulled from the water and rushed to a medical centre.

Local police chief Jhony Pasaribu said the 13-foot crocodile weighing a whopping 441 lbs was captured by villagers on the same day of the attack.

He said: 'While bathing, the child's leg was bitten by a crocodile and the mother helped. They were dragged 10 metres into the water, but they were lucky many villagers were there to help them.

'They sustained serious injuries, but are expected to make a full recovery.

'Meanwhile, the crocodile was transported to the Merbau Police Station. It will be handed over to the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Labura before being taken to the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in Kisaran.'

Officials said the crocodile was caught to prevent future attacks, adding villagers should be cautious when using the river for washing and daily activities.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocs - with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region's climate which provides them with abundant food.

Conservation officials blame habitat degradation due to blast fishing and the conversion of coastal areas into farms for driving the creatures out of the wild and closer to villages.

With locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the combination of factors has caused a 'perfect storm' and lead to rising numbers of crocodile attacks on humans.