A grandmother rowing across a river survived a terrifying crocodile attack - by smashing the beast in its face.

Housewife Kaetek, 59, had been scouring the water for snails to feed to her ducks when the vicious reptile latched onto her hand in Aceh province, on January 27.

The beast dragged her off the boat and thrashed around violently trying to tear off her bleeding hand.

Incredibly, the tenacious grandmother kept the croc at bay by repeatedly hitting it in the face with her free hand.

The monster reptile eventually loosened its grip and escaped when the roar of a passing motorboat scared it away.

Kaetek was hauled onboard and was taken ashore as residents scrambled to take her to a local hospital.

Footage shows the locals carrying the woman on a makeshift hammock. They placed her onto a motorcycle sidecar and rushed her to the Singkil Health Centre with a severe wound on her hand.

Speaking from her hospital bed, a shaken Kaetek said: 'I was rowing a boat looking for snails and water hyacinths to feed my ducks.

'When I reached toward the surface of the water to pluck up some river weeds, the crocodile suddenly pounced on my hand. I immediately fell into the river.

'I screamed for help and tried to fight back while praying. I used my free hand to hit the crocodile's face.

'Luckily, a motorboat passed by, and the crocodile let me go. I immediately went ashore and residents on the other side of the river helped me.

Kaetek received 15 stitches for her injured hand.

Village head Pahrul Raji said residents are now hunting the crocodile as it posed a 'serious threat' to the locals living on the riverside.

He said: 'This river is used by the community for various activities. We are worried that if there are children bathing in the river, they could be the next victims. Therefore, we ask that this threatening crocodile be immediately captured for the safety of all.'

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.