Hanoi - Vietnamese farmers in the southern province of Dong Nai have caught 14 crocodiles that escaped from crocodile farms during floods last week, a commune official said Wednesday.

The crocodiles broke out of their cages on unidentified farms in the region during floods on September 10 and made their way into rivers and streams. Since then, villagers in a commune called Phuoc Tan, 70 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, have gradually been recapturing the reptiles.

Police and forest rangers visited the commune to seize the crocodiles, according to regulations, but could find no trace of them.

"Farmers have sold or killed all of them. We cannot find any escaped crocodiles in our commune now," said Huynh Xuan Quang, chairman of Phuoc Tan Commune.

Quang said the crocodiles, which weighed some 30 to 40 kilograms each, were sold for 2 million dong (120 dollars) apiece.

"Most of these farmers are poor, so 120 dollars is a big sum of money," said Ma Van Tai, a commune official in Phuoc Tan. "I do not think they want to report the crocodiles to local authorities. They know we will confiscate them."

Tai said the villagers had been warned to be cautious with escaped crocodiles, but the prospect of money led them to take risks to capture the beasts.

"I have been informed that in a nearby commune, farmers have just caught one more, but they killed it, too," said Tai.

Vietnam is subject to severe annual flooding, creating a periodic risk of crocodile breakouts.

In September 2007, hundreds of crocodiles were set loose in the central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa after floodwaters broke their cages on a breeding farm. Several crocodiles which attacked local people were shot to death by authorities. (dpa)