00:00We know that the search first began at just after half past five in the community of Palumpa
00:06or Nyamarianga as it is sometimes referred to.
00:09It's southwest of Darwin, it's about a five to seven hour drive depending on road conditions
00:14and it's there that a 12-year-old girl went swimming at Mango Creek and was last seen
00:19according to initial reports from the community being taken by a crocodile and since police
00:25and the community both locally in Palumpa but also from the larger bush town up the
00:30road of Wadair have been dispatched to try and locate this missing girl.
00:35There are serious concerns for her welfare and safety, indeed the police minister this
00:39morning Brent Potter described the event as tragic.
00:43It's a tragic incident for any parent or family member to lose a young child and especially
00:47in circumstances like that taken by a crocodile.
00:49I know the search and rescue team are currently out there right now with members from the
00:53Wadair police station and they'll continue to do that to find the croc, I believe they've
00:56been authorised to remove that crocodile from the area.
00:59And of course police now working to remove that crocodile from the area, indeed across
01:03the Northern Territory there's an extensive exclusion zone for if a crocodile is found
01:08in a region it's not only removed from the waters it's then subsequently killed and we've
01:12also seen the Northern Territory Government rethink its crocodile management plan to vastly
01:17increase the amount of crocodiles that are culled and killed each year from 300 as it
01:22was for the last decade to 1,200 annually.
01:25Now we don't know the girl's status at this present point but what we do know is that
01:30there are grave concerns for her welfare and indeed a crocodile is obviously a very dangerous
01:35predator in waterways, particularly across the Top End.
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