Brit twin sisters savaged by crocodile ‘were told lagoon was safe’ by ‘illegal’ tour guide despite spate of attacks
BRITISH twin sisters who were savaged by a crocodile in Mexico were told the lagoon was safe by an "illegal" tour guide, their older sister has claimed.
Hero Georgia Laurie, 28, saved her sister Melissa from the predator by repeatedly punching it while dragging her out of the water.
Zookeeper Melissa was dragged underwater while swimming on Sunday night in Manialtepec Lagoon, ten miles from surfing resort Puerto Escondido.
Georgia heard her sister's cry for help and found her floating face down on the surface.
As she dragged her twin to safety, the crocodile attacked again and savaged both women.
Georgia fought off the beast with a flurry of punches and swam back to the boat.
The pair are both recovering in hospital in Mexico, with Georgia suffering injuries to her hands while Melissa has been placed in a medically-induced coma.
The women were volunteering with animals in the country and had been taking a break when the crocodile attacked.
The twins' older sister, Hana Laurie, 33, said her younger siblings had booked the tour through their hostel.
But the women later found out the tour guide was not registered - and had taken them to an "unsafe" swimming spot which was not approved.
"He's an unlicensed tour guide and according to someone on a Mexican Facebook page he's been doing it for a while, doing illegal tours in unsafe, unregistered areas," Hana said.
"He's gone to where the crocodiles live and not the location where all legal certified sanctioned tours take place.
"He has been called out locally before, apparently, but that wasn't for my sisters to know.
"They found out the information through their hospital."
Hana revealed on Tuesday she first thought it was a joke when her mum told her that her siblings battled a crocodile.
"My mum called me really early in the morning, I'm known to be a bit of an early riser, had it not been so early I would have thought that she was joking," the 33-year-old said.
"It's not a very funny joke... I just couldn't believe it, it's so rare so I kind of sat in silence for a little bit."
Speaking on BBC Radio Solent, Hana recalled how she managed to speak to Georgia on a video call shortly after the incident which was "very emotional."
"I told her how proud I am, how grateful I am, without her, I wouldn't have my other sister, without them being so fierce we would have been in a totally different situation."
Manialtepec Lagoon is famous for its bioluminescent waters caused by millions of tiny creatures that glow in the dark.
And swimmers who visit the Manialtepec Lagoon are warned that crocodiles up to ten feet long live there.
But dad Sean, 63, of Sandhurst, Berkshire, said his daughters were assured by their tour company that there were no crocodiles in the water.
"The girls asked specifically if it was safe to go swimming and the guide had said it was," he told .
A source told The Sun Online there was a known crocodile risk in the lagoon.
"What a horrendous story. I have swum there very briefly in the bioluminescence," they said.
"I knew there was a croc risk because I knew the coast but all the tour guides denied it - but I saw the guides looking for them with torches."
Mum Sue Laurie said the family haven't been told if Melissa's injuries are life-threatening or not.
"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," she said.
"She has been put into a medically induced coma."
Hana said her brave sister Georgia fought off the crocodile three times.
"What Georgia had told us is that she didn't know what else to do other than just try and get to Melissa and just to hit it so we're so lucky that Georgia's got water safety training so she knew how to get Melissa and drag her away with her divemaster training," she said.
"She's been working in diving for years - so we were very lucky that she's managed to get to Melissa in the water and just repeatedly hit the crocodile until it released her.
"She's got cuts and bruises and injuries on her hands from where she was punching the crocodile three times, so each time she had to fight again. I'm so proud of her, I'm in awe."
The latest update about Melissa, Hana told the BBC, is that she is in a medically induced coma and that she has had a couple of operations to stop the internal bleeding.
"She was struggling to breathe as she was taken to the emergency department so they've put her into a medically-induced coma so they can try and drain some of the water, they can keep the risk of infection low, but now it's a waiting game, she's in a delicate spot," Hana said.
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The twins had been travelling the world together since March and were due to return in November.
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The family are now trying to work out if they are able to fly over to Mexico to support the twins, but it's proving difficult due to the cost and Mexico being placed on the UK's amber list.
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."
