A Chinese schoolboy who climbed over a fence into a crocodile enclosure at a holiday resort and taunted the creatures was dragged into the water and eaten.

The nine-year-old sneaked into the crocodile park at Silver Beach, Beihai in the southwestern Guangxi region last week. The boy and his three friends fired catapults at the crocs and beat them with sticks.

The official Xinhua news agency said: “One of the irritated crocodiles bit Liu’s clothes and dragged him into the water where he was eaten by a swarm of crocodiles.”

His friends raised the alarm, but it was too late. Investigators searching for the boy felt they had to check inside the crocodiles, so they used pork to lure them out of the pool. Snipers shot the first animal to lumber on to the bank. Inside it they found some of the boy’s remains.

The crocodiles were still being bred at the pool, although croc shows at the park were stopped several years ago. The pool had been sealed off prior auction and the owner hired a keeper to take care of the crocodiles, but it seemed that the man was not there when the boys broke in.

Police are investigating.