BANGKOK - A man and an 8-year-old boy were bitten by the reptiles on the loose in the capital city of Bangkok and its vicinity following severe floods, local media reported Wednesday.

A 36-year-old Ploy Onpla was attacked by a crocodile as he was fishing Tuesday night on flooded Rama II road, western Bangkok. According to him, he was trying to catch a 2.8m crocodile seen in floodwaters by using fishnet and had successfully caught the smaller reptile before being bitten. Authorities were called to hunt down another one that fled away.

Meanwhile, a boy was badly bitten by a reptile while he was wading in over 70cm high floodwaters Tuesday evening on Bhuddhamonthon V road in Sampran District, Nakorn Phathom province, some 30km away from Bangkok.

The boy was seriously injured and was admitted to a local hospital.

According to the Department of Fisheries, it has been anticipated that more than 100 crocodiles were believed to have escaped from crocodile farms as the country's worst floods in half a century washed over their pens and swept them downstream.

Some farms have offered up to 5,000 baht or $165 for a crocodile returned alive.

The most severe inundation inflicted by heavy monsoon rains and back-to-back tropical storms has ravaged most parts of the nation since late July, affecting over 13 million people nationwide while killing more than 600.