A crocodile is seen being recaptured in Khanh Hoa province in central Vietnam. Authorities and residents in a Vietnamese coastal province are on the hunt for crocodiles that escaped a state-owned farm damaged by flash floods. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Lethal floods that claimed at least 18 lives and swept away hundreds of crocodiles from a central Vietnam farm have forest rangers, soldiers and militiamen scrambling to recover the reptiles.

    The crocodiles escaped from a state-owned farm, which had some 5,000 of the reptiles, when floodwaters knocked down part of the fence enclosing the area Saturday, said Khanh Hoa province's Governor Vo Lam Phi.

    Soldiers using AK-47 assault rifles shot and killed 11 crocodiles as they crawled up a riverbank toward nearby villages, said Nguyen Nhu Long, an officer with the Khanh Hoa military command.

    Hundreds of crocodiles may have escaped, Long said, adding that it could take a week to 10 days to track them down.

    The crocodiles had escaped into a stream that passes the farm and then joins a river flowing through several villages.

    Five rounds of flooding have hit the country's central region in the past month. Water levels in area rivers remain extremely high, and more rains were expected Monday, the national weather forecast center said.

    (Agencies)