Marksmen hunt 11 crocodiles that escaped from flooded farm in Thailand

  

(10/21/07 - BANGKOK, Thailand) -- Marksmen cruised rivers in northeastern Thailand on Sunday hunting for 11 crocodiles that scampered away from a farm during floods last week.

A total of 34 crocodiles escaped the commercial farm in Nakorn Ratchasima province on Wednesday, but the rest have been shot and killed, said Suwira Phonkoh, an official in the province's special task force to help flood victims.

Many people in the province have been evacuated due to the flooding. Authorities warned the remaining residents about the crocodiles, which were being raised for their meat and skins.

Some of them are as much as 20 feet long, and authorities said capturing them was increasingly difficult. Experts from a Bangkok zoo have been asked to help in the search.

"The area is huge, and the big crocodiles are more skillful and they can dive longer than small ones," Suwira said.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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