A man saved from the jaws of a crocodile was recovering in hospital alongside his rescuer Saturday after being mauled in the country's remote northeast.

The men were reportedly swimming in "croc-country" off the Cape York Peninsula on Friday afternoon when one of them was attacked, Denis O'Sullivan of the Queensland Ambulance Service told media in Cairns.

The other man was injured as he tried to rescue his friend from the saltwater croc, which could have been up to 2.5 metres long, O'Sullivan said.

-He wouldn't have wanted it any bigger; put it that way- he said.

One man suffered significant injuries to his head, chest and arms, while his rescuer received lacerations to his arms.

Local media reported the pair were both army personnel who had been swimming before the attack.

An army medic on a nearby barge applied a tourniquet before rushing them to the hospital -- an enormous effort involving a dinghy, helicopter and airplane journey almost 800 kilometres south to Cairns.

Although both men were now in a stable condition, O'Sullivan said the younger man had a narrow escape.

-I think he's very lucky to be alive and here today to tell the story.-