--- description: A British journalist Paul McClean is thought to have been killed by a crocodile while on holiday in Sri Lanka. title: British 'Financial Times' Journalist, 24, Thought Killed by Crocodile in Sri Lanka image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc402b8524e73834b/6988ddee196cf448af041f30/gettyimages-847244138.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kingdom](/tag/united-kingdom/) ## United Kingdom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # British _Financial Times_ Journalist, 24, Thought to Have Been Killed by Crocodile in Sri Lanka by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2017 12:25 PM CUT  Sri Lankan rescue officials search for the body of British journalist Paul McClean in a lagoon near the coastal village of Panama, 360 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, on September 15, 2017\. Sri Lankan police found the body of a 24-year-old British journalist, Paul McClean, who is suspected to have been killed by a crocodile. Sri Lankan rescue officials search for the body of British journalist Paul McClean in a lagoon near the coastal village of Panama, 360 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, on September 15, 2017\. Sri Lankan police found the body of a 24-year-old British journalist, Paul McClean, who is suspected to have been killed by a crocodile.STR—AFP/Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2017 12:25 PM CUT A British journalist working for the _Financial_ _Times_ is thought to have been killed by a [crocodile](http://time.com/4845021/giant-crocodile-t-rex-teeth-jurassic-period/ "undefined") while on holiday in [Sri Lanka](http://time.com/4872034/sri-lanka-dengue-outbreak-deaths/ "undefined"). Former Oxford University student Paul McClean, aged 24, was found dead in mud at a lagoon nicknamed ‘Crocodile Rock,’ near the coastal village of Panama in the southeast of the country. Witnesses told the _Times_ that McClean had been seen waving in desperation as he was dragged underwater by the beast. A postmortem examination will be carried out later today. Alex Barker, the _Financial Times_‘ Brussels Bureau Chief, described McClean as “a first-class journalist in the making.” “We were so very lucky to have him as a friend and colleague in Brussels. We’ll miss him dearly,” his tribute continued. > [](https://twitter.com/alexebarker/status/908652643240771585) The _Financial Times_‘ editor, Lionel Barber, said on Twitter that McClean was a “rising star” and the team would “miss him dearly.” A minute’s silence was held in the news room today. McClean joined the paper as a graduate reporter two years ago and was working at the London-based _fastFT_ team at the time of his death. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4943243/british-journalist-killed-crocodile-in-sri-lanka/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4943243/british-journalist-killed-crocodile-in-sri-lanka/"},"headline":"British Financial Times Journalist, 24, Thought to Have Been Killed by Crocodile in Sri Lanka","datePublished":"2017-09-15T12:25:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:15:07.175Z","description":"He was described as 'a first-class journalist in the making'","url":"https://time.com/4943243/british-journalist-killed-crocodile-in-sri-lanka/","keywords":["United Kingdom","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc402b8524e73834b/6988ddee196cf448af041f30/gettyimages-847244138.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc402b8524e73834b/6988ddee196cf448af041f30/gettyimages-847244138.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170915_Sri Lanka Paul McClean","caption":"SRI LANKA-BRITAIN-ANIMAL-CROCODILE","creditText":"STR—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kingdom/","name":"United Kingdom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4943243/british-journalist-killed-crocodile-in-sri-lanka/","name":"British Financial Times Journalist, 24, Thought to Have Been Killed by Crocodile in Sri Lanka"}}]}] ```