Boy, 8, mauled to death by crocodile in front of parents as hunt for body continues

Schoolboy Julio Otero Fernández, 8, was visiting the Matina River in Limón, Costa Rica, when he was dragged away by the crocodile and killed< /p> Julio Otero Fernández was killed by the crocodile while paddling in a river near his home (

Image: Jam Press)

A schoolboy was killed by a crocodile while paddling in a river near his home as his parents watched in horror.

Julio Otero Fernández, 8, was visiting the Matina River in Limón, Costa Rica, when he was dragged away by the reptile.

The young boy, who had only waded through water below knee level, was then taken deeper into the river in front of his horrified family.

The boy's body has still not been found.

His distraught parents, Don Julio Otero and Margini Fernández Flores, are now considering moving to Nicaragua to protect their other four children, ages 3 to 16.

Julio Otero is the father of the young boy (

Picture:

Press Jam)

They also made a desperate appeal to the authorities to find the reptile and sacrifice it.

The ninth grader's father said, "The hardest thing for my wife was seeing the crocodile floating with my son's body."

Speaking to local media, his devastated mother said: "It is impossible to continue living in Matina because in every corner of the house we find something that reminds us of Julito, which causes us a lot of pain.

"We can't be here, because every time we pass by remembering how nice it was to have him here with us.

"It's very difficult for us, so we're going to have to get out of here.