A British woman rescued from the jaws of a crocodile by her twin sister who punched the reptile away is reportedly fighting for her life in a hospital in Mexico.

The animal dragged Melissa Laurie, 28, beneath the water as she was swimming in a lagoon at night with her twin Georgia.

Georgia called out for her sister and dived under water to search for her when she didn't reply.

She found Melissa floating face-down on the surface after several minutes of frantic searching about 10 miles from Puerto Escondido, a surfing resort popular with British holidaymakers.

But as she cradled her sister in her arms and swam to the boat, the crocodile attacked the women again as Georgia fought it off, punching the predator until it let go, the Mail Online reports.

The sisters' mother Sue Laurie, from Sandhurst, in Berkshire, said both women had terrible bite injuries.

Sue said both sisters were rushed to hospital where Melissa, a zookeeper, remains in a coma after coming close to drowning.

"We have twin daughters who are travelling around Mexico were attacked by a crocodile last night," she said.

"Melissa is alive, but we don't know if her injuries are life-threatening or not.

"She has water on her lungs and she has been coughing up blood. So we don't know if she has a punctured lung or not.

"She has been put into a medically induced coma."

Her father Sean added: "Georgia fought off the crocodile.

"It was only because she is a diver and has life-saving experience that she was able to save her.

"So she went under looking for her. She was very brave.

"After several minutes she found Melissa floating face down on the surface.

"But when she was bringing her back to the boat the crocodile attacked again.

"Georgia had to fight it off. She kept punching it in the head. She suffered lacerations, bite wounds too."

The twins had taken a boat trip to the Manialtepec Lagoon, which is a coastal lagoon described as a bioluminescence natural phenomenon.

Despite the warnings, the twins' father claims that the sisters were assured by their tour company that there were no crocodiles in the water.

Mr Laurie, 63, a business consultant, explained: "The girls asked specifically if it was safe to go swimming and the guide had said it was."

The sisters had been backpacking around the world, having left the UK in March and had planned to return in November.

However their parents are now considering whether they need to fly out to Mexico to bring them home.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are supporting the family of two British women who are in hospital in Mexico, and are in contact with the local authorities."

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