Crocodile attack: MP Blames 'Human Stupidity' As Woman Is Taken During Late Night Beach Swim

'You can't legislate against human stupidity, If you go in swimming at 10 o'clock at night, you're going to get consumed,' says Warren Enstch, Queensland representative

A woman has gone missing after being attacked by a crocodile during a late night swim with a friend just off an Australian beach.

The two women were in shallow water at Thornton Beach in Daintree National Park in Queensland when one was taken by the crocodile at 10.30pm.

Police say the missing woman's friend tried to grab her and drag her to safety but wasn't able to do so.

The two women, aged 46 and 47, were not locals and might not have known the beach was a crocodile habitat, police have suggested.

Local Queensland representative, Warren Entsch, said the pair must have seen the many crocodile warning signs in the region.

He added: "You can't legislate against human stupidity, If you go in swimming at 10 o'clock at night, you're going to get consumed."

A rescue helicopter using thermal imaging equipment failed to find any trace of the missing woman on the night of her disappearance.

The search has since been resumed with a helicopter, boat and land-based teams. The missing woman is from Lithgow in New South Wales. 

The survivor, from Cairns, 58 miles south of Thornton Beach, was taken to a hospital suffering from shock and a graze to her arm inflicted as the crocodile brushed against her.

Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman Neil Noble said: "The report that we have from the surviving woman is that they felt a nudge and her partner started to scream and then was dragged into the water."