Melissa Laurie was rescued by sister Georgia after she was dragged underwater by the reptile
A British woman is fighting for her life after she was saved from the jaws of a crocodile by her twin sister during a holiday in Mexico.
Melissa Laurie, 28, was swimming in a lagoon at night a few miles from the seaside town of Puerto Escondido on Mexico’s Pacific coast when she was dragged underwater by the beast.
Her identical twin, Georgia, dived into the water to bring her sister back to safety when the pair were attacked again by the crocodile.
Their family said Georgia had repeatedly punched the reptile in the head as she fought it off, and swam to a boat with her sister in her arms.
Their mother, Sue Laurie, from Sandhurst, in Berkshire, told MailOnline that both of her daughters, who were backpacking around the world, suffered bite injuries and were taken to hospital where Melissa remains in a coma.
“Melissa is alive, but we don’t know if her injuries are life-threatening or not,” she said. “She has water on her lungs and she has been coughing up blood. So we don’t know if she has a punctured lung or not.”
The twins’ father, Sean Laurie, 63, said Georgia, an experienced diver, had rescued her sister from certain death, bravely jumping into the water to save her after hearing Melissa cry out for help.
But minutes later the crocodile struck again. “Georgia had to fight it off,” he said. “She kept punching it in the head. She suffered lacerations, bite wounds too.”
The Manialtepec Lagoon, where the twins had been swimming at night, is a popular tourist site in the state of Oaxaca, illuminated by bioluminescence within the water.
Mr. Laurie claimed the twins were assured by a tour company that the lagoon was safe to swim in, saying: “The girls asked specifically if it was safe to go swimming and the guide had said it was.”
The twins had planned to return home in November after setting off on their travels in March, but their parents are considering bringing them back sooner.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are supporting the family of two British women who are in hospital in Mexico, and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Source: dailymail.co.uk, noticias.caracoltv.com
