Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

A six-year-old boy has been badly injured by a crocodile after being attacked at a popular Mexican tourist resort.

The unnamed victim was playing near the water’s edge at a popular beached area close to the Pacifica Hotel in the resort city of Ixtapa in the municipality of Zihuatanejo in the south-western Mexican state of Guerrero, according to a Civil Protection statement.

The boy was staying with his parents in a nearby hotel when he was left alone to play at a popular spot of the estuary where tourists watch the animals from a wooden bridge.

Tourists and lifeguards threw rocks at the crocodile after it suddenly appeared and attacked the boy, according to local newspaper Excelsior.

They scared it away and called the emergency services who arrived quickly and took the young victim to hospital.

The boy was reportedly injured on his head, throat, arms and legs, and his condition has been described as serious but stable.

Civil Protection spokesperson Jorge Cervantes Alvarez warned the public about approaching the estuaries in the area.

He also said that many crocs are expecting their eggs to hatch at the moment and more sensitive and defensive than usual.

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