A villager was killed by a crocodile while fishing in a river in Indonesia.

Father-of-four Syafri, 46, was catching fish with his younger brother Dedek, 30, along the Rokan River in Riau province on the island of Sumatra on November 15 evening.

Dedek said they were riding separate boats some 656ft (200m) apart when he heard Syafri scream followed by a loud splash of water.

He paddled over - only to find his brother missing and the other boat empty.

The younger sibling rushed back to their village to call for help, and a search team of 20 boats was sent to scour the river throughout the night.

The locals found Syafri's body drifting in the water at dawn on November 16.

Rohil Police Chief AKBP Isa Imam Syahroni said: 'The victim's family has declined to have the body undergo a post-mortem exam. They have opted to hold a funeral for him at their home in Sungai Manasib, Bangko Pusako sub-district as soon as possible.'

Authorities said the Rokan River has seen a spate of crocodile attacks this year. At least five people were reported to have been injured or mauled to death in the area, which is a natural habitat for crocodiles.

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.