BHUBANESWAR (AFP) - A THREE-METRE crocodile suspected of killing up to six fishermen in the east of India has been caught, a local wildlife expert said on Tuesday.

The adult crocodile was captured last Saturday from a village pond in Orissa's densely-populated Kendrapara district before being transferred to a nearby estuary, regional wildlife chief Prasanna Behera told AFP.

Village residents told local media that the crocodile had killed at least five people in two days after drifting in from the nearby river last week.

Mr Behera said he was unable to confirm the number killed.

'The safety of human lives is uppermost in our mind,' he said.

The Press Trust of India said the crocodile had feasted on six humans in the river district adjoining the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, popularly called the croc kingdom by local inhabitants for its large crocodile population.

The creature was captured with fishing nets, Mr Behera said.

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