A schoolboy was killed by a crocodile while he was taking a bath in a river in Indonesia.

Pahrendra, 11, was washing in the stream with his father Harmain, 55, when the reptile pounced on him in Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau province, on October 21.

Harmain said he tried to save his son by pulling his leg, but the crocodile yanked the youngster away.

AKBP Budi Setiawan, Indragiri Hilir Police Chief, said Harmain called the other villagers to search the river.

He said: 'The search was carried out until midnight. Residents managed to find and kill the crocodile suspected of attacking the victim and then caught it.

'However, when the crocodile's stomach was cut open there were no body parts inside.'

Police and wildlife officials killed the crocodile.

Rescue teams continued the search and found Pahrendra drifting lifeless along the river at dawn on October 22. His body was intact, but he had several deep bite marks all over his body.

Officials have warned the public to be careful when approaching rivers in Indragiri Hilir where many crocodiles live.

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.