A dramatic rescue mission unfolded in South Africa when a police officer was lowered by helicopter into a crocodile-infested river to retrieve the body of a businessman who had been eaten by one of the reptiles. The operation took place on the Komati River in the country's northeast after authorities launched a desperate search for the missing man.
The businessman's vehicle had become stranded while attempting to cross a flooded low-water bridge last week. By the time officers arrived at the scene, the car was empty, leading investigators to believe that powerful currents had swept the man away.
Police divers, helicopters, and drones were deployed in the search before officers spotted a small island where several crocodiles were basking in the sun. Captain Johant 'Pottie' Potgieter, commander of a police diving unit, said years of experience led them to suspect one of the reptiles had recently fed.
'Besides having a massively full tummy, he didn't move around or try to slip into the river despite the noise of the drones and the chopper,' Potgieter told News24.
The crocodile was killed before Potgieter undertook what police later described as a 'highly dangerous and complex operation' to retrieve the beast from the river. In astonishing scenes, the officer was lowered from a helicopter by rope before securing the reptile so both could be airlifted out of the water.
Potgieter also revealed that investigators found six different types of shoes inside the crocodile. 'The sharp end of a crocodile is not the best place to approach it,' he told the news website.
The enormous crocodile, measuring 4.5 metres long and weighing around 500kg, was then transported to nearby Kruger National Park, where human remains were discovered inside its intestines. DNA testing is now being carried out to establish whether the remains belong to the missing businessman.
Potgieter said the discovery of multiple shoes could suggest the reptile had attacked other victims, though he cautioned that it was not definitive evidence. 'A crocodile will eat or swallow anything,' he said.
South Africa's acting police chief, Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane, praised the officers involved in the operation.
