Fisherman found with no hands or stomach after suspected crocodile attack in Limpopo

Police in Limpopo have called on residents to be careful where they swim after a man was killed while fishing in a crocodile-infested river.

Officers in Maleboho were informed of a drowning and possible crocodile attack at Mogalakwena River in Arrie Village last Friday morning.

When they arrived, residents pointed out the lifeless body of a man who was still in the river.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased was last seen fishing on the same spot, and there is a possibility that he was attacked by crocodiles,” explained police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.

ALSO READ: Watch: Crocodile attacks KZN handler during live show

Missing body parts

A provincial search and rescue team was called to the scene, and the body was retrieved from the river.

Once on land, it was discovered that the body was missing no hands and a stomach.

“He was certified dead by members of emergency medical personnel services. A case of inquest was registered for further investigation.

“The deceased was identified as Phuthi Oscar Serumula, residing at Arrie Village in Maleboho,” added Ledwaba.

Police said residents should avoid swimming, fishing, or crossing rivers infested with crocodiles, as these activities pose a risk and could result in death.

ALSO READ: SA’s own Crocodile Dundee: Gutsy guide recounts underwater fight with croc

Prophet attacked by crocodile

The attack comes just more than a year after a “prophet” was found in a river in the province surrounded by crocodiles.

Police suspected the man may have been performing baptisms when he was attacked.

Three men were praying when “one prophet suddenly experienced difficulties and drowned in the crocodile-infested river”, Ledwaba explained at the time.

ALSO READ: ‘You don’t test God that way’: Body of ‘prophet’ found torn to pieces by crocodiles

Women fight croc to free man

Two women hit a four-metre-long crocodile on the head with a log and stick to free a man from its jaws last March in Middelburg, Mpumalanga.

Anthony Joubert was standing in ankle-deep water at a farm in the area when he was attacked, reported the Middelburg Observer.

One of the women, Bianca van der Colff, said Joubert was helping his son collect a fish the boy had just caught when a “giant crocodile jumped out of the water” and grabbed him.

In the chaos, Van der Colff’s husband, Johan, grabbed Joubert and then rushed to get a gun. Joubert tried to poke at the animal’s eyes while his wife Annalize found a tree stump and began hitting the crocodile with it.

Van der Colff joined in with a stick.

“The Lord put the log there because Anthony started to get tired. I screamed, ‘The crocodile is pulling him in!’ to which Annalize hit the crocodile on the head again, and he let go,” she told the publication.

NOW READ: Limpopo rangers shoot crocodile terrorising communities