Gharial
Gharial
A young Indian woman was killed by a crocodile in front of her family while taking part in a bathing ceremony in India's Uttar Pradesh state.

The woman, known only as Neeraj, was washing herself on the banks of a river in the National Chambal Sanctuary when the beast attacked her.

Her terrified family raised an alarm but the crocodile had vanished into the water with her body within minutes.

Officers and divers are now trying to recover the girl's body, the Times of India reported.

The family said the girl was taking a dip as part of a ritual on the spiritual day of Ekadashi, when Hindus abstain from certain food during daylight hours.

It is claimed the crocodile may have attacked her because it is their nesting season when females are more aggressive.

'Crocodiles lay eggs in this season,' Anil Patel, a local forest officer, told the Times of India.

He went on: 'The victim may have unknowingly ventured near the crocodile's nest in the sanctuary.

'Female crocodiles get aggressive in this season as they protect eggs or hatchlings. People shouldn't venture near a river bank in summers.'

National Chambal Sanctuary is home to more than 500 crocodiles, according to the latest census.

The 5,400-square-km reserve, also known as the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is home to the critically endangered gharial crocodile, red-crowned roof turtle and Ganges river dolphin.

Located on the Chambal River near the tri-point of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, it was first declared in Madhya Pradesh in 1978.

It now constitutes a long narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.

Within the sanctuary, the pristine Chambal River cuts through mazes of ravines and hills with many sandy beaches.