Joshua Young was fishing in Belize and only had a spear in his hands while snorkeling, when he suddenly found himself in complete darkness and completely lost: “I thought I had collided with a boat,” he said. later. But no, when he sank again what was in him was his head inside the jaws of the three meter crocodile that began to violently attack him.

Joshua was usually in the water at a popular snorkeling spot near his home on the island of Caye Caulker on April 8 when he thought the boat had hit him. But his head was in the jaw of a crocodile and he had to open the beast’s very ugly jaw after dragging the monster ashore as far as he could.

Joshua sustained life-threatening injuries during the attack, including wounds to his head and throat, nine broken fingers, and stopping his heart during surgery due to the amount of blood he lost, according to reports. Daily Mail.

A battle of life and death

“I felt someone run into me, so I looked up and looked around, but nothing, no boat, no boat,” said 28-year-old Joshua, who works as a bartender.

He continued: “I went back under the water and immediately felt someone hold my head. I didn’t know what it was. It took me a few seconds before I realized that ‘oh shit, it’s a crocodile.’

It was a battle for survival, where Joshua used his fins to counter the crocodile’s winding motion and prevent it from dragging him to his death.

‘I tried to hook up. The current was so strong that I fought it to stop it from rolling over me. It saved me from having fins, because they allowed me to swim faster.

‘I didn’t think I was going to die because I was trying to live and I was confused and thinking’ Oh shit, is this really happening? ‘ and trying to remove it. I never thought of dying.

When Joshua struggled to land, he was able to free his head from the crocodile’s crushed bite, but the creature clung to his hand.

‘When I got to the shore it was in my head and I pulled it out. I can’t describe how long I opened her mouth. I barely pulled my head out, but he squeezed my hand and I thought ‘shit, this hurts’ and when I didn’t get my hand out, I would go crazy and lose a finger, ”he said. Daily Mail.

‘I opened his mouth, pulled out my fingers and he fell to the ground. Then he tried to touch the side of my body. Fortunately, I was wearing a wetsuit, but it completely tore it and not my skin. “

Joshua escaped to a nearby medical clinic in a taxi, but he said he fainted on the way and the driver helped him.

“There were a lot of people in front of me and I was shouting for them to move. I took a taxi and when I got there I lost consciousness, so the driver had to take me inside. “

Doctors were wary he may have a skull fracture, so the victim of the attack was taken to a hospital in Belize City, where he was taken for surgery and his heart stopped due to blood loss.

Joshua was hospitalized for five nights, and his friends set up a GoFundMe page to help him pay his medical bills.

“He had nine broken fingers, a crooked scar all over his head, bites and wounds on his head. My head is completely open. They don’t want to sew because they don’t know if the skull is broken. It directly bit my nose, so there was a hole and I couldn’t breathe.

“I’m so worried about medical bills because I don’t have any money.”

Although Joshua also works as a freelance surf instructor, he’s not sure if he’s safe in the water again. She receives therapy for her hand before returning to work.

Joshua said: “I haven’t been back in the water yet, so I don’t know how I’ll feel.” I feel like I had a near death experience.

Belize is home to two types of crocodiles; the American crocodile and the Morelet’s crocodile, with larger American crocodiles up to five meters.

Joshua was probably attacked by a Morelet who preferred freshwater habitats such as rivers and swamps and was found throughout the country.