Woman has arm ripped off in crocodile 'death roll'

A crocodile has bitten off most of a woman's arm after attacking her and performing a "death roll".

The woman, who was in her 60s, was walking at a creek in Wyndham, northwestern Australia, when the deadly animal lunged at her.

After biting her arm, the crocodile performed the roll - a motion used to rip off parts of its prey - reportedly taking the woman's arm off near her elbow.

The attack sparked a hunt to trap and kill the animal, believed to be a saltwater crocodile, which can grow up to seven metres long.

It had vanished by the time wildlife officers arrived at Three Mile Creek following the attack on Wednesday, with police cordoning off the area.

The woman was flown to hospital in a stable condition.

A Department of Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said: "We've got crews on site trying to locate the animal. If that doesn't happen, we'll soon be getting fresh crews in to come and deploy a trap with a view to trapping and destroying the animal."

On average, two people are killed every year by crocodiles in Australia.