British holidaymaker and Financial Times journalist dragged off by crocodile in Lankan lagoon

A British holidaymaker and Financial Times journalist was killed by a crocodile whilst washing his hands in a lagoon in Sri Lanka, the Telegraph reported.

Paul McClean, 24, an Oxford University graduate,was on a holiday with friends and is believed to have wandered off from friends in order to go to the toilet, before being ambushed by the reptile as he dipped his hands in the water.

He is said to have been seen “waving his hands in the air” in desperation before being dragged under water at a lagoon known as Crocodile Rock, located just just minutes from a popular surfing beach.

Paul McClean at work - doing a piece for the camera. Pic courtesy the Telegraph

It was reported that  Mr McClean had only arrived in Sri Lanka within the last few days and was staying at a nearby hotel with a group of friends.

Raised in the Thames Ditton area of Surrey, he graduated from Oxford with a First Class Honours degree in French in 2015 before joining the FT later that year.

Fawas Lafeer, owner of Safa Surf School, located up the coast from where the incident happened, told the Telegraph : "This afternoon at around 3.15pm there was an incident involving a tourist at Elephant Rock surf spot, near Aragum Bay.

“A local fisherman witnessed a man being dragged into a river, set back from the beach, by a crocodile. The fisherman was on the opposite side of the river and downstream of the incident location.

“The police were called immediately. We believe it was a 25 year old British man by the name of Paul McClean who was on holiday in Sri Lanka with a group of friends.

“He went surfing at the local surf spot; a trip organised by the hotel he was staying at. He headed away from the beach into the jungle around 900m away from the shore.”