A villager was found dead after being attacked by a crocodile while opening a pond gate in Indonesia.

Sudirman Immank, 42, opened the sluice but was reportedly mauled by a croc lurking in the water in West Sulawesi at around 9 pm on October 23.

His friend Mawardi, who witnessed the incident,reported the attack to the local search and rescue agency.

Rezky Ilhamsyah, Data and Information Centre coordinator for the Mateng disaster office, said: 'The river's condition is dangerous for humans. The missing man is suspected of being attacked by a crocodile. Based on the complainant's statement, the victim was about to open the door of the pond but a crocodile immediately pounced on him.'

Sudirman's body was found the following day, October 24, floating in the nearby Budong Budong River.

Search volunteer Wahid said: 'His body was full of crocodile bite wounds. We took him to the funeral home for immediate burial.'

Neighbours described the deceased as a 'kind and friendly figure who liked to help others'.

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.

Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles' natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.

With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.