Two crocodiles shot and cut open in Kakadu in search for boy, 12, 'taken by saltie while swimming' Rangers found no evidence of the boy's remains in either crocodile Two crocodiles have been shot and their stomachs opened in the grim search for a 12-year-old boy feared to have been grabbed by one of the reptiles in Australia's remote Kakadu National Park. The large reptiles were shot during the night as police and park rangers patrolled the stretch of water where the boy and a group of friends were swimming. Another 12-year-old was bitten on the arm but miraculously managed to escape being fatally injured. The crocodile then turned on his friend and carried him away. A saltwater crocodile lurks in the water at Kakadu National Park: Police believe a 12-year-old boy was taken by a saltie as he swam with friends over the weekend A crocodile expert was today examining the bite marks on the arm of the survivor in the hope of establishing the size of the attacking reptile to prevent numerous 'innocent' creatures being shot. Police sergeant Stephen Constable said other officers and park rangers had located two large crocodiles in the Mudginberri billabong in the early hours of the morning in the area where the boy was taken. 'One was 4.3 metres and one was 4.7 metres,' Sergeant Constable told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Both of those were shot and removed from the area. 'We've since had a look at both crocodiles and neither of them had anything in their stomachs and we're now going to continue the search.' He added that it was hoped that the bite marks on the arm of the surviving boy would 'give us a rough idea of how large the crocodile was.' Officials have been searching the area, around 140 miles east of Darwin, since early Sunday afternoon after the alarm was raised. Police have also spoken to four of the boys from a nearby Aboriginal settlement who witnessed the terrifying attack. Kakadu is where the original Crocodile Dundee movie was made. Twelve months ago another teenager fought off a five metre saltwater crocodile in the same area, resulting in warnings being stepped up about the dangers of crocs in Northern Territory rivers and waterways. Because there have been no attacks in the Mudginberri billabong area in recent times, police believe the boys entered the water without looking around for crocodiles that might be lurking there. The current wet season is the most dangerous time of year to be swimming in the Territory's waters. Remote: The park boasts stunning, unspoiled landscapes and sits in the northern part of Australia It is understood that privately police and rangers fear there is little chance of the missing boy still being alive - crocodiles usually swim with their prey to the bottom of rivers and perform a 'death roll' until the victim drowns, if death has not already occurred in the reptile's jaws. Saltwater crocodiles - known as salties - can grow up to seven metres long, weigh more than a tonne, and are a common feature of Australia's tropical north. Their numbers have increased steadily since the introduction of protection laws in 1971, with government estimates putting the population at 75,000-100,000. The most recent fatality was in August last year, when a man was taken by a 4.7-metre croc as he swam across the Mary River. Parks officials said the Magela Creek area was well signposted as a crocodile danger zone. 'We have big croc warning signs with croc jaws and a big thing saying "croc risk; do not swim here, do not enter,"' a spokeswoman said. Australian researchers launched the world's first crocodile attack database, CrocBITE, last month, hoping to firm up anecdotal reports that harmful or fatal incidents are increasing. Sunday's attack in Kakadu is the 11th fatality recorded so far this year by the CrocBITE team, which is based at Australia's Charles Darwin University. The other crocodile-related deaths in 2014 have been in Angola, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Five have involved saltwater crocs.