A heroic mother saved her daughter from the jaws of a 13ft crocodile in a 10-minute long battle , armed only with a wooden washing paddle . Diwalinen Vankar , 58 , had gone with her 19-year-old daughter Kanta , to the bank of the Vishwamitri River , 40 kilometres from Vadodara , in west India , to wash their clothes . As they were wringing out their laundry , a mugger crocodile grabbed Kanta 's right leg and dragged her into the murky river . Diwalinen Vankar , 58 , ( pictured left ) fought off a 13ft crocodile with a washing paddle after it attacked her 19-year-old daughter Kanta ( right ) A crocodile grabbed Diwalinen Vankar 's daughter 's legs on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in west India and dragged her into the river - her mother rescued her by hitting it with a washing paddle ( stock image ) The sudden attack rattled Vankar , who hastily grabbed her daughter 's hand to try and pull her free from the clutches of the crocodile . But the mugger crocodile clasped its powerful jaws round her daughter with its razor-sharp teeth . Vankar said : ' I was using all my force to pull her back , but the crocodile was so powerful I could not move her an inch . 'For a moment I felt the crocodile would drown my daughter as it tried to roll into the water . ' But the quick-thinking mother then decided to attack the crocodile - that can grow up to 15 feet long - with her washing paddle . 'For several minutes I tried to pull her with my hands , but then I got hold of the wooden bat and started hitting its head forcefully ' , she said . 'Her leg was trapped between the piercing teeth as she cried in pain , her hands were scratching the river bank to get a grip but it did n't let her go . 'It took me 10 minutes to finally free her from its jaws . ' Kanta suffered a leg injury after the crocodile grabbed her right leg and dragged her into the murky river . This map shows the Vishwamitri River , near Vadodara , where the attack by the crocodile took place . Vankar said she went to wash her clothes in the river as there was a lack of water and electricity in the village . After hearing the commotion , villagers rushed to help and drove Kanta to hospital , where doctors were treated her for a leg injury . She has since been discharged . Speaking from the hospital , her mother said : ' I thank God for saving my daughter . The injuries are not that serious and doctors say she will be fine in sometime . ' She said they had been forced to wash their clothes in the river because of a shortage of water and electricity in the village , but vowed never to return . A wildlife officer said the river is home to ferocious crocodiles and villagers have been warned to steer clear of the river . 'She has miraculously survived . These crocodiles are huge and ferocious , ' Ashok Pandya , Vadodara wildlife officer told the Times of India . 'We have been warning them not to go near the river . ' Last year , six people were killed in crocodile attacks across Vadodara . There are more than 200 crocodiles in the Vishwamitri River . Diwalinen Vankar , 58 , who fought off a crocodile to save her daughter Kanta , 19 , pictured with her husband Ishwar and two other sons at their house in India .
Diwalinen Vankar went with daughter to wash clothes in Vishwamitri River . A crocodile grabbed daughter 's leg and dragged her into river in west Vadodara . Vankar , 58 , tried to pull daughter - Kanta - free from clutches of crocodile . But after no success , she started attacking it with her washing paddle . Eventually rescued 19-year-old daughter , who only suffered minor injuries .