Sydney. A man avoided a vicious attack by a saltwater crocodile by sticking his fingers in the 14.7ft (4.5m) animal’s eyes when he was caught spearfishing off north-west Australia.

The attack happened around noon on Saturday while the victim was in the water with a group of six other people at the rocky Archer Point area, near far north Queensland, the rescue service said in a release. .

A man, who according to Australian media is 44 years old, survived the attack of the reptile, despite being bitten three times and dragged to the bottom of the sea by the animal.

A fisherman who misses firing a harpoon to scare off an animal, stuck his fingers “several times” into the crocodile’s eyes to break free from its jaws, swim to shore and climb onto a rockaccording to a statement from Ambulance Queensland.

His companions treated the injuries as an emergency while waiting for emergency services to arrive by helicopter, which later took the man to hospital in the city of Cairns, 120 kilometers south of the attack.

“He’s extremely lucky, not many people live to tell a story like this,” said Valerie Noble, an EMS paramedic.

The victim suffered multiple bite injuries and several broken bones, Queensland Ambulance Service said.