Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

This is the huge 10-foot crocodile which firefighters hauled from an open drain near a hospital after it swam in from a nearby river.

Picture Credits: AsiaWire/@RakanBombaMalaysia

The startling images were taken during the rescue in the residential Kuching area of the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. Local media report there are several government offices and a hospital in the same neighbourhood.

In the photos, firefighters can be seen working to secure the three-metre (10-foot) crocodile from the sunken drain using ropes.

In one image, a firefighter can be seen in the drain tying a rope around the crocodile’s tail.

The crocodile can then be seen out of the drain with its jaws secured as firefighters look on.

Fire chief Tan Min Chai told reporters that the adult crocodile is believed to have got into the drain via a nearby river. 

Chai says he believes the crocodile got lost when it was looking for food or a nest.

Local media report the local fire service will work with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation to release the crocodile back into the wild.

Reports state the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah have seen an increase in the appearance of crocodiles in residential areas and attacks on humans from the reptiles.

Residents reportedly blame and increase in palm oil production in the area and the destruction of natural habitats for the increasing sighting.