By Enyichukwu Enemanna
In what has been described as a dangerous operation, South African police have managed to recover the remains of a man after an officer was lowered from a helicopter into a crocodile-infested river in search for the businessman swept away by floodwater last week.
The reptile suspected to have eaten the missing man had already been killed but it was still a nerve-wracking experience, commander of a police diving unit, Captain Johan “Pottie” Potgieter said.
“The sharp-end of a crocodile is not the best place to approach it,” he told the News24 website.
After Potgieter had used a rope to secure the animal, both were hoisted away from the Komati River in the north-east of the country.
DNA tests will now be conducted to confirm if the remains are those of the missing man.
His car had become stranded while attempting to cross a low bridge in the flooded river last week.
By the time rescue mission arrived, it was empty, leading to suspicion that he may have been swept away by the water, Mpumalanga provincial police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo told the national broadcaster, SABC.
The authorities used drones and helicopters in the search mission and noticed a small island where a number of crocodiles were basking in the sun, Potgieter recounted.
He said that from years of experience, they could tell that one of the animals had recently eaten.
“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,” he told News24.
BBC reports that the reptile was then killed before Potgieter embarked on what police described as the “highly dangerous and complex operation” to recover it.
The massive crocodile, measuring 4.5m (15 ft) and weighing 500kgm (1,100 lb), was then flown to the nearby Kruger National Park, where human remains were discovered inside its intestines.
Potgieter said in addition to the body parts, six different types of shoe were found in its intestines. He said this could indicate it had killed other people but not necessarily: “A crocodile will eat or swallow anything.”
