A tiger dragged a man into a jungle in northern India and rescuers have so far only recovered two severed hands.

Two friends— Afsarul Un Ahmad and Mohammad Anas—had been riding a motorcycle along a highway near the Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand, when the attack occurred last Saturday, the Hindustan Times reported.

The predator suddenly emerged from the bushes and lunged at the two friends.

"The tiger suddenly attacked us while we were on our way and our vehicle lost balance and we both fell to the ground," Anas told The Times of India.

The predator seized Ahmad, who had been riding on the back of the motorcycle, and dragged him away.

"I moved to the other side but I saw that the tiger had grabbed him and dragged him inside the jungle," Anas said.

Anas escaped the scene with minor injuries, however Ahmad has not been seen again.

Authorities arrived at the scene to search for Ahmad, and discovered two hands, lying not far from a river inside the forest, the Hindustan Times reported. It has not yet been confirmed whether the hands belong to Ahmad.

Police have also uncovered a bloodstained mobile phone, and bag, not far from the highway.

Chandrashekhar Joshi, divisional forest officer of Ramnagar, told the Hindustan Times that camera traps have been set up in the forest, however so far, teams have "not been able to locate the man or the tiger."

Patrolling has increased in the area and cages have been readied for the predator's capture, the news outlet reported. Local people have been advised not to venture in the forest.

The Corbett Tiger Reserve is known for its population of Royal Bengal tigers, one of the biggest wild cats in the world. It has the highest tiger population of India's 50 reserves, according to the Hindustan Times.

According to the India Times, this tiger may be responsible for multiple other attacks that have occurred recently.

The tiger, if it is the same one, has previously attacked other bike riders in the area.

Another similar incident occurred on June 15, when a tiger killed a single bike rider. Then, on June 17, two forest officials riding a bike were attacked by a tiger. One was killed and another was seriously injured, the India Times reported.

Despite these multiple incidents, no tiger has been tracked down.

Tigers have immense physical strength, and can be extremely dangerous. They usually avoid people but have been known to attack if they are provoked or feel their territory is threatened. While attacks remain rare, they have been increasing in areas where neighborhoods are expanding into habitats.

Newsweek has contacted the Jim Corbett National Park for comment.

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