Men ward off crocodile, drink urine in 'horrific' three-day ordeal

Men ward off crocodile, drink urine in 'horrific' three-day ordeal

Two Northern Territory fishermen have survived a "horrific" three-day ordeal involving warding off a crocodile and drinking their own urine to survive, police say.

Early on Thursday, the men, 32 and 33, were making their way up the croc-infested Daly River, more than 100km south of Darwin, to Anson Bay, when their vessel struck an object in Clear Creek.

Police said it sank in seconds and the men, who weren't up to speaking to the media on Monday, were not able to activate their emergency beacon.

READ MORE: New searches for William Tyrrell

A crocodile tried to attack as the pair threw things at it to try to keep it at bay, police said.

Superintendent Shaun Gill said they were "extremely lucky to survive".

"I've been involved in this about 30 years and this is about as horrific as it gets," he said.

Things got so desperate, according to the officer, that the men resorted to drinking their own urine.

READ MORE: Finance expert warns Australians are 'sleepwalking into disaster'

"(It was) completely inhospitable," he said.

"The temperature was extreme. They had no water to drink to the point where they found bottles on the beach and tried to drink urine, and mix it with Berocca to try and get some taste, the only thing saving their lives."

It wasn't until Monday that Shane Taylor and a friend came around the corner to see two men, "extremely happy to see us".

"(My) friend and I were just going for a fish towards the front of the Daly River and we noticed a swag that was washed up on the bank," he said.

READ MORE: Austria to impose COVID-19 lockdown for the unvaccinated

"We'd only gone another few Ks and saw the blokes, they were waving and obviously fairly agitated."

The rescued men were taken to hospital for treatment.

Superintendent Gill reminded fishers to report in regularly, daily if possible, when on a long trip.

"They did everything they could to help themselves," he said. 

"But even with all that, they were extremely lucky to survive"