A ‘remarkably lucky’ Australian man escapes a crocodile attack after prying its jaws off his head.

An Australian man, described as ‘remarkably lucky,’ managed to free himself from a crocodile’s grip by forcing its jaws open with his bare hands. Despite the ordeal, he only suffered minor injuries, paramedics reported.

The 44-year-old man from Queensland fought off the crocodile while swimming at Lake Placid, near Cairns, on Thursday.

Though he had puncture wounds on both sides of his face, he remained ‘very, very calm’ when medical responders arrived to assist him.

Paramedic Paul Sweeney explained that the crocodile had bitten the man's head, and in his attempt to pry the jaws open, his hand got caught as the jaws snapped shut on his finger. 'He’s a remarkably lucky gentleman,' Sweeney added.

‘If the bite had been just a few centimeters lower, it could have punctured major blood vessels,’ Sweeney noted. ‘Had that happened, the outcome would have been much worse.’

The man, who chose to remain unnamed, estimated the crocodile was between 1.5 to 2 meters (approximately 4.92 to 6.56 feet) in length.

Sweeney shared that the man had been swimming in the same area three times a week for almost eight years. ‘It’s certainly not a spot I would choose to swim,’ he said, describing the swimmer as ‘a very fit individual’ whose vital signs were remarkably steady considering the trauma.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he returns to those waters for more exercise,’ Sweeney remarked.

A team from the Queensland Environment Department was dispatched to the location, and a search for the crocodile responsible for the attack is now underway, they confirmed.

‘Once rangers arrive at the scene, any crocodile present will be identified and removed,’ authorities stated.

While crocodile attacks are uncommon in Australia, Queensland authorities run awareness campaigns to warn the public about the dangers of swimming or relaxing near crocodile-prone waters.

In 2019, a Queensland fisherman narrowly escaped a crocodile attack by poking the creature in the eye. Last year, a giant 14-foot crocodile was captured at a popular tourist destination in the Northern Territory.