A man has survived a terrifying fight with a crocodile in a bid to save his fishing net in Mozambique.

João Armando, 35, is now in hospital and at risk of having one of his hands amputated after his left arm was bitten by the giant reptile. His right leg was also injured.

He was fishing on the River Shire, a tributary of Zambezi River, when he saw the crocodile tearing at his net.

From the bank he tried to pull the net free, but the crocodile pulled him into the water and then the real fight began.

“The crocodile attacked me, I tried to kill it,” said Mr Armando in the local Csena language.

“In the fight, the animal plunged me into the water, I screamed for help and soon I was saved by some people.”

The surgeon who first treated him said he was unconscious when he arrived at the clinic in Morrumbala.

Mr Armando is being transferred to a hospital in the city of Quelimane for further help.