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LORES: Two officers at Komodo National Park have been hospitalized after being attacked by a Komodo dragon that wandered into the park office in Rinca Island, East Nusa Tenggara.

The officers are identified as Ma’in, 54, and Usman, 45. “The two officers were immediately taken to Sangklah Hospital in Bali for more intensive treatment because the hospital offers more sophisticated medical equipment,” said Komodo National Park head Sustyo Iriyono on Wednesday. The island’s local health center is not equipped with Komodo antivenom.

According to Usman, the Komodo dragon walked into the office on Tuesday at noon as the door was left open. It then attacked Ma’in and bit his left leg. Usman came to help him by pulling on the animal’s tail. The lizard, however, attacked him and also bit his left leg before another employee came to the rescue.

Sustyo said that he would take necessary measures to prevent such things from happening, adding that he planned to place glass on the door to prevent animals from entering the office.

Such incidents have repeatedly occurred in the island. In October 2012, elderly resident Tima Binti Hamso was bitten by a Komodo dragon as she was preparing fodder for her livestock.