A father was mauled to death by a crocodile in front of his horrified friends in Indonesia.

Sarangadi, 49, was foraging for shellfish with other villagers when the ravenous beast attacked him in Southeast Sulawesi, on April 6.

The massive reptile was said to have launched out of the murky water before latching onto his torso with powerful jaws.

Sarangadi's pals battled to reach him as he flailed against the beast, but he was quickly dragged into the depths.

Rescue teams arrived at the scene and scoured the river overnight. They discovered his lifeless body floating near the mouth of the river.

Wahyudi, a spokesman for the Kendari National Search and Rescue Agency, said: 'Yes, the joint search and rescue team has found him dead. The victim was found floating dead near the mouth of the river, around 1.91 kilometers (around one mile) from the initial location of the attack.

'The victim and his wife were looking for shellfish in the Roraya River, and he was attacked at around 1 pm.'

Sarangadi's body was recovered and returned by boat to his devastated family waiting on the riverbank.

Asdar, a friend of the deceased, said he had seen a 'whirlpool' swirling in the middle of the river shortly before the horror attack.

He said: 'The other villagers waded into the river, and I chose to stay on land. Not long after we arrived, I saw a disturbance in the middle of the river. Suddenly, a crocodile surged out of the water and attacked Sarangadi.

'He works as a farmer. Collecting shellfish is not a usual part of his routine. He could have lived if we had not invited him.'

Authorities have since urged villagers to stay away from the river, which is known to be inhabited by large and aggressive 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.

Widespread tin mining has also caused villagers to encroach on the crocodiles' natural habitats, pushing the creatures closer toward people's homes.

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.