An Indonesian worker freed himself from an attacking Komodo dragon by punching the reptile’s snout until it released him and ran away, a national park official said.

Agustinus Jenaru, 20, was working inside an unfinished wooden bungalow on Rinca island when the lizard entered and bit onto his left hand on Saturday, said Komodo National Park official Daniel Bolu Ngongo.

Mr Jenaru hit the jaws of the giant lizard for several seconds until it freed him. Jenaru was taken to a clinic for treatment of lacerations and a puncture wound.

Komodo dragons can be found in the wild only on the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca.

 The lizards – thought to number fewer than 4000 – can grow longer than 3 meters and weigh 70kg.

Mr Jenaru was the second victim bitten by a giant lizard this year.

In 2007, an 8-year-old boy was killed by one of the lizards on Komodo Islana

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