A police officer stared down a monster crocodile off the far north Queensland coast, seconds after the beast had dragged him under the water by his head.
In an exclusive interview with A Current Affair, Jeff Tanswell said he locked eyes with the reptile in the Torres Strait for an excruciating moment until the beast inexplicably swam away.
Mr Tanswell said he had dived beneath the water and was returning to the surface when the crocodile wrapped its jaws around his head and dragged him down.
"It was like someone got a big lump of coral and smashed it down on my head and everything went dark," Mr Tanswell said.
"It was like a massive pressure coming down and I felt like I was trying to get out from under something, and then I felt the bubbles and the water turbulence start."
Although the crocodile could easily have crushed its victim's skull, it suddenly let go of Mr Tanswell, who found himself face-to-face with the predator.
"I've popped up and looked over to my left shoulder for some reason and there he is . . . he's right there beside me," he said.
"We've locked eyes for half a second and then he's taken off. He shot off about three metres away from me and then went down.
"When I saw him take off . . . I thought, 'this is what I've read about, sometimes they come back for a second go. I'm a sitting duck here'."
It was at this moment that Mr Tanswell's wife Jane drove their boat between her husband and the man-eater — a decision that probably saved his life.
"Somewhere in there I've started the boat. I saw his head come up and I saw the croc's belly and back roll away from (Jeff)," said Mrs Tanswell, also a police officer on Thursday Island.
Mr Tanswell said he was sure his wife's quick action had saved him from a gruesome death.
"I've just locked my arm over the side of the boat and as I was looking down she's just reefed me in. It was a godsend," he said.
The couple described the moment as a turning point in their lives.
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