A giant crocodile was shot dead after killing a fisherman - and keeping his body in its jaws.

The 16ft (five meters) crocodile pounced on Rusdi Tambah, 45, while he was trawling on the banks of Matamba River and dragged him into the water in Sabah on September 12 morning.

A team of eight firefighters, along with wildlife department officers, joined the search and found it around 200ft (60 meters) from where Rusdi was attacked before the operation to retrieve his body began.

However, the beast refused to give up Rusdi's body, so wildlife officers shot it five times, which eventually killed the animal.

Footage shows the dead crocodile being dragged by officers and locals from the riverbanks into higher ground.

Sumsoa Rashid, head of the Lahad Datu Fire Department, said: 'Witnesses told us the victim was fishing on the riverbank when a crocodile attacked him.

'We were forced to fire five shots to paralyze the reptile. After the crocodile was confirmed dead, we evacuated the victim's body.'

They tied its legs and body with a rope while Rusdi's body was pulled from its mouth. Footage shows Rusdi's body floating in the shallow part of the river after the crocodile has been killed.

A rescuer draped a cloth around his body filled with bite marks from the croc's sharp teeth before being retrieved.

The local fire department head added: 'We urge the public to be more vigilant when doing activities near the river. The Matamba River is one of the habitats of estuarine crocodiles.'

The crocodile was buried near the river with the help of residents while Rusdi was returned to his family.

Conflicts between humans and crocodiles are rare in cities in Malaysia. However, they have become a growing concern in rural areas where human activities overlap with crocodile habitats, such as rivers, estuaries, and wetlands.

Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo have large populations of saltwater crocodiles and have become the most dangerous places to live.