Three Chinese pupils who saw their 9-year-old schoolmate devoured by an angry crocodile are receiving psychological counseling, a local hospital source said Tuesday.

The three pupils were disturbed and incoherent when local police questioned them, and they had nightmares after the accident, said Lu Wei, a doctor with Beihai People's Hospital in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Lu said these symptoms are normal reactions after a terrible fright, and the children should recover soon after being treated.

Lu advised families to avoid talking about the incident and said school staff should not reinforce pupils' memory of the tragedy by talking about the attack on campus.

Last Friday, 9-year-old Liu Haiyang from Xiantian Primary School was devoured by a crocodile after he ventured into a crocodile pool with three friends.

The children had been shooting at the animals with catapults and beating them with wooden sticks. One of the irritated crocodiles grabbed Liu and dragged him into the water, where he was eaten.

The pool, which had been used to stage crocodile shows, is located in a recreational park in a holiday resort called Yintan, or Silver Beach, in Beihai City of Guangxi.

Snipers killed the crocodile last Saturday with approval of the local forestry department and local anatomists recovered the boy's remains inside.

The park staff, parents and even the pupils should learn a lesson from the accident, experts said.

Local government staffs have drained the pond and will resettle the other ten crocodiles.

The manager and the keeper of the alligator pool have been detained by local police for questioning.

(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2007)