A father fought in vain to save his one-year-old boy after a crocodile snatched the baby from a canoe and ate him alive in Malaysia on Thursday morning.

The father and son were traveling on a river in Sabah, eastern Malaysia, during a fishing trip when the reptile struck. The dad was unable to rescue his child from the crocodile’s jaws and was himself left with bite wounds in the attempt.

Villagers rescued the dad, a Palauh tribesman reported to be in his 40s, after he managed to scramble to the banks. But the crocodile had already dragged his son into the depths.

It later emerged on the surface with the mutilated body of the baby in its jaws before sinking back into the water, dragging him down once again.