Girl, 14, killed by crocodile while swimming in river as friends shout for help

A savage crocodile killed a young girl while she was out swimming with friends.

Intan Maria Sari, 14, was taking a dip in the Gansal river when she was mauled to death in Riau, Indonesia, on Saturday.

The teen and her friends were washing their clothes in the water before diving in to play, according to reports.

Her panicked pals then shouted for help and watched helplessly as Maria disappeared underwater before the rescuers arrived.

A search and rescue was carried out by local police who found her the following evening, more than 24 hours after she went missing, with animal bite marks on her waist.

Insp Aipda Misran, of Indragiri Hulu Police, said: "After washing clothes, the victim soaked in the river.

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Villagers rushed to help the teen but it was too late (Viral Press)

She was playing with friends when the croc struck (Viral Press)

"She dived underneath but shouted for help upon surfacing. One of her friends saw the victim being attacked by a crocodile."

A search operation was carried out with a joint team from the Regional Disaster Management Agency, the National SAR Agency, the army and residents.

Maria's body was found a little more than half a mile away from where she was last seen.

Maria was swimming in the Gansal river (Viral Press)

Her body was found less than a mile away from where the beast attacked (Viral Press)

The police officer added: "Her body was intact, but there were scars that looked like crocodile bite marks on the waist."

Officials have banned villagers from swimming in the river and put up signs about the "threat of wild animals."

The girl's body was taken for an autopsy before her family was able to retrieve her for a funeral ceremony.

The crocodile that reportedly attacked the girl has not been found.

A search operation was launched for missing Maria (Viral Press)

Her body was found the following evening (Viral Press)

Insp Aipda added: "Residents have been warned to avoid rivers as the crocodile is likely to attack again.'

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocs, with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region's climate.

Conservation officials blame habitat degradation due to blast fishing and the conversion of coastal areas into farms for driving the creatures out of the wild and closer to villages.

With locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.