British crocodile attack twins pictured for first time since escaping

The British twins who survived a crocodile attack in Mexico earlier this month have been pictured for the first time since the incident.

New photographs show Georgia and Melissa Laurie smiling in a hospital in Puerto Escondido. Georgia is pictured with a bandaged hand, as her injuries were sustained while trying to beat the crocodile away from her sister, and Melissa is pictured in a hospital gown with a laceration to her face.

Melissa’s injuries were much more extensive, however, as she was thrashed and dragged underwater in the attack. Once at hospital, she had to be placed in a medically induced coma to allow her body to recover from the multiple wounds she suffered to her legs and abdomen.

While in a coma, Melissa developed sepsis as a result of infection from the bite wounds. She was woken last week, and according to Georgia, is recovering well and able to talk and walk a little.

The crocodile attack on 6 June, when the twins, 28, from Berkshire, went on a tour of the Manialtepec Lagoon in Oaxaca.

Speaking to ITV News on Monday, Georgia said that Melissa had been the first one to notice the reptile in the lagoon, and alerted the group to the danger, but did not manage to escape herself.

Georgia said she returned to the water when her sister did not respond to her calls, and recalled seeing her sister’s body “floating towards her”.

“I jumped into action with my rescue training that I remember and dragged her body towards me and laid her on my chest and tried to revive her and she started going into a fit.

“And the crocodile came back twice — so I beat it off, but the third time is when I sustained the most injuries,” she said.

Georgia also told ITV News about what her sister remembers about the attack. “She said she remembers the first crocodile attack — she remembers it dragging her underwater.

“She remembers feeling like she was going to drown, and also she said she felt like her arm was ripped off

After the third attack, the twins were pulled onto a boat, as Melissa was fading in and out of consciousness.

Georgia told ITV News that the only other thing Melissa remembers about the ordeal was Georgia singing to her on the boat. Georgia said that she sang to her sister as a way to comfort her in her state of distress.

On the way to the hospital in Puerto Escondido, Georgia says that Melissa was coughing up blood and bile and described her injuries as “really scary”. She said that Melissa had puncture marks all over her legs and abdomen, cuts to her stomach, a fractured wrist and water in her lungs.

At the hospital, doctors were able to assess the full extent of Melissa’s injuries and determined the best course of action would be to put her into a medically induced coma.

“They found a lot of debris, a lot of mud and grass in her body from the water she took in and also from the puncture wounds from the crocodile.”

She said that Melissa has been recovering well since being woken from the coma, and has begun to talk and walk again.

Georgia didn’t notice the extent of her own injuries until they had arrived at the hospital either. She was treated for lacerations to her hand and wrist from being bitten as she fought off the crocodile.

Last week, the twins’ older sister Hana Laurie told BBC Breakfast that the girls had asked their guide whether it was safe to swim in the lagoon, and were told that it was.

“They asked if the water was safe and were told it was, and evidently that’s not the case.

“They’re not naive people, Georgia and Melissa are experienced with animals, Georgia’s a great diver, which is how we think she’s managed to save her life.”

It was later discovered that the tour guide was unlicensed. After the attack, he fled the scene and was later arrested by the Guardia Civil. Since the attack, signs have gone up warning others not to swim in the lagoon.

Hana also set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the twins’ medical costs, which has raised nearly £44,000.

In an update posted on Monday evening, Hana said: “It turns out Melissa is a little bit like Terminator or Wolverine or something, and has unbelievable strength and healing skills.

“She’s managed to stand and do a short walk in the hospital and we’re confident she won’t need physio on the leg that was bitten.

She added that the sepsis is no longer an issue, and that Melissa had a big smile on her face, and that their parents, Sean and Sue Laurie, were on their way to Mexico to support their daughters.

Both Hana and Georgia recognised the tremendous efforts of the hospital staff, and thanked them for their hard work.