Colombo, Apr 13 (IANS): Sri Lanka's wildlife department has launched an operation to catch man-eating crocodiles in rivers close to villages.

The wildlife department is searching river banks in parts of the country where crocodiles are known to live. Dangerous crocodiles which are captured will be transferred to a central location, Xinhua reported.

Minister-in-charge of wildlife S.M. Chandrasena said the government has decided to open two crocodile conservation parks where the captured reptiles will be kept.

He said they were also looking for a crocodile that had attacked and killed a young woman near a river last week.

The woman was killed when she went to have a wash near the Nilwala river. She was dragged into the water by a crocodile and her body was found later. The killer crocodile was not found.

Another woman had been killed in the same river, and officials believe it was the same crocodile which carried out the two attacks.

Earlier this year, a man was killed by a crocodile in the outskirts of Colombo.

Villagers captured the crocodile by feeding it chickens embedded with hooks. The crocodile died while it was being transferred to a zoo.

According to police, at least 20 people have been killed by crocodiles in the last 10 years.