A woman is believed to be dead after being taken by a saltwater crocodile following a late night swim with a friend at at Thornton beach in Daintree national park in far northern Queensland. 

"They decided to take a swim in the ocean just in waist-deep water and at that point, we believe that a crocodile has taken one of the women, taken hold of her," said Senior Constable Russell Parker to the ABC.  "Her friend tried valiantly to drag her to the shore but unfortunately wasn't able to do so and the woman subsequently disappeared," he added.

Both women are reported to be in their 40s.  The survivor was taken to hospital.  Local media in New Zealand report the victim was expatriate Kiwi living in Australia. 

Lib-Nat MP Warren Entsch had harsh words for victim:  "You can't legislate against human stupidity," Entsch was quoted as saying.  "This is a tragedy but it was avoidable.  There are warning signs everywhere up there."

"You can only get there by ferry, and there are signs there saying watch out for the bloody crocodiles," he added.  "If you go in swimming at 10 o'clock at night, you're going to get consumed."

It's not immediately clear if such signs are indeed posted, if they were visible to the women, or if they saw such signs.  But Mr. Entsch also warned that Australians might want to take aggressive efforts to control the population of saltwater crocodiles.

"Let's not start vendettas.  It's hard enough for some families to make a quid up there in the Daintree, showcasing crocs in their environment," he said.  "People have to have some level of responsibility for their own actions."