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Crocodile suspected in death of UK reporter in Sri Lanka

Last Updated Sep 15, 2017 at 11:00 am MDT

Sri Lankan police officers stand around the body of a British journalist Paul Stewart McClean, after it was recovered from a lagoon near Panama, Sri Lanka, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. Sri Lankan navy divers on Friday found the body of McClean, a reporter for the Financial Times, who is believed to have been attacked by a crocodile while holidaying with friends on an eastern beach. Panama beach, about 300 kilometers (190 miles) southeast of the capital, Colombo, is famous for surfing and other beach sports. (AP Photo/Chandana Liyanaarachchi)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan navy divers on Friday found the body of a British journalist who is believed to have been attacked by a crocodile while holidaying with friends on an eastern beach.

Police said Paul Stewart McClean, a reporter for the Financial Times, went missing in a lagoon near the city of Panama on Thursday afternoon.

They said McClean was reported missing after he had walked some distance away from his friends. The Financial Times said on its website that officials told his friends he was believed to have been attacked by a crocodile.

The cause of death is yet to be established. Officials in the British embassy in Colombo have been informed, police said.

Panama beach, about 300 kilometres (190 miles) southeast of the capital, Colombo, is famous for surfing and other beach sports.

James Lamont, the Financial Times’ managing editor, described McClean as “a talented, energetic and dedicated young journalist” who had “a great career ahead of him.”