A ravenous crocodile killed a farmer while he was crossing a river in Indonesia.

Depi Pahrizi, 45, waded into the murky water on his way to work at a plantation in West Sumatra, on May 13.

He was trudging across the turbid channel to climb the riverbank on the other side when the unseen predator pounced and violently snapped on his leg.

The terrified local screamed in pain as the beast tried to yank him underwater. His friend Mukri, 43, grabbed onto his hand and began a desperate tug-of-war with the croc.

However, Depi's grip, drenched in water, slipped and the powerful reptile dragged him away in front of the other horrified workers.

Villagers arrived at the scene after being notified of the crocodile attack. They found the creature still lurking at the site, holding what appeared to be Depi's unconscious body in its jaws.

Footage shows the 10ft predator lurking just below the surface as it swam around holding its meal. It later retreated into the depths as search and rescue teams arrived to catch it.

Hendri, head of operations for the Padang search and rescue agency, said: 'Initial information is that the victim crossed the canal with his friend at 11.00 WIB. Local residents have also tried to conduct independent searches, but they have not found anything.

'Pasaman search and rescue (SAR) post officers have headed to the location at around 13.05 WIB.'

Authorities said personnel were still scouring the river. Rubber boats and drones have also been deployed to aid in the search.

Novi Yurandi, Passaman SAR coordinator, said: 'We have deployed five personnel to the location for the initial stage of the search. If we find anything, we hope to immediately report them to the SAR team.'

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.