Padawan police chief Irwan Hafiz Radzi said the body of Jacob Tuan, 32, was discovered by a search and rescue team about 300m from where he was reportedly attacked.

He said the body was intact, although bite marks were found on several areas, believed to be from the crocodile.

“The body was sent to the Sarawak General Hospital for a post-mortem, and the case has been classified as sudden death,” Harian Metro quoted Irwan as saying.

Jacob was reported to be fishing when a crocodile suddenly emerged and dragged him into the river at about 10pm.

Family members who witnessed the attack said it happened so fast that they were unable to help. They immediately alerted the police.

The fire and rescue department deployed 12 personnel from the Petra Jaya and Batu Lintang fire stations to the scene.

The search and rescue operation was called off at 12.30am because of the thick vegetation and darkness, and resumed at 8am today.