After a 2.5-metre (8-foot) saltwater crocodile mauled two soldiers who went for a swim in infested waters, Australia’s military department has been charged with a breach of occupational safety.
The two personnel, a private and a corporal, were hospitalized after escaping the reptile’s jaws in August 2021 while swimming at Cape York Peninsula in northeastern Australia.
The pair had been granted permission to go fishing in an inflatable Zodiac boat in the remote location, around 750 kilometers (450 miles) north of Cairns, Queensland.
After anchoring the boat, they jumped into the water and were “almost immediately” attacked by the crocodile, said Australia’s work health and safety watchdog Comcare on Friday.
“The crocodile dragged one of the soldiers underwater and mauled him while his colleague fought off the animal, allowing the men to escape to the Zodiac,” the government body said.
Both soldiers were badly injured, suffering bite and claw wounds, and they were treated at Cairns Hospital.
Prosecutors laid a single charge against the Department of Defence alleging it had breached federal work health and safety laws, Comcare said.\
The department is accused of failing to enforce a number of procedures, including forbidding workers from entering crocodile-infested water unless there is an operational or safety purpose to do so, conducting risk assessments, and providing a detailed safety briefing about the risk of crocodile attacks.
The soldiers were transporting a landing craft from Darwin to Townsville for servicing when they decided to take the perilous swim.
The maximum penalty if found guilty is Aus$1.5 million (US$980,000).
The defense department expressed gratitude to members of the community and emergency personnel who assisted the two guys following the attack.
“The safety of our people is paramount in all activities and critical to our mission of defending Australia and its national interests,” it said in a statement provided to AFP.
The defence department confirmed a single charge had been laid against it but declined further comment, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.
