British woman, 28, saved from jaws of crocodile by her twin sister

A British zookeeper is fighting for her life after being dragged underwater by a crocodile during a nighttime swim in a lagoon.

Melissa Laurie, 28, was saved by her identical twin sister Georgia, who kept punching the reptile in the head until it let go.

Both women are said to have had serious bite injuries and have been rushed to hospital in Mexico.

Melissa came very close to drowning and has been coughing up blood, so doctors have put her in a medically induced coma.

The pair were out swimming in the bioluminescent waters of Manialtepec Lagoon, 10 miles from the popular surfing resort of Puerto Escondido, when Georgia heard a scream.

Business consultant Sean told how she tried to bring her twin back to their boat but the crocodile attacked again.

He said: ‘Georgia had to fight it off. She kept punching it in the head.’

Their mother, Sue Laurie, from Sandhurst, Berkshire, said: ‘Melissa is alive, but we don’t know if her 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.’

Sean, 63, said the sisters had been backpacking around the world, having left the UK in March with the aim of returning in November.

Before their visit to the lagoon with a tour company, Sean says they specifically asked if if it was safe to swim in the water, to which the tour company said yes.

However, swimmers are warned that crocodiles that can grow up to ten feet long do live in the lagoon.

The parents say they are now weighing up whether they need to fly to Mexico to bring their daughters back to England.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: ‘We are supporting the family of two British women who are in hospital in Mexico, and are in contact with the local authorities.’