Human remains found in South African zoo dead after ‘dangerous’ surgery – National
South African police have found the remains of a man inside a crocodile that he allegedly ate in a high-risk operation involving a helicopter.
Captain Johan Potgieter was taken off the plane and taken to the river, where he “bravely saved the crocodile using a rope under extremely dangerous conditions,” the South African Police Force confirmed in a Facebook statement on Sunday.
The animal – which was suspected to have eaten a man after his car was swept away while trying to cross a bridge during the floods last week, according to a police statement – was killed when it was taken out by helicopter and transported to another location, “which enabled the police and other experts to find the remains of the suspected missing person,” said the police.
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“Following a week long search for a missing man, the team identified a crocodile in the river which is suspected to have attacked the missing man,” the police added in a statement released later.
Photos of the process, shared by police and the Associated Press, show Potgieter and the 4.5-meter-long crocodile hanging from a rope suspended from the helicopter.
“The discovery of the bones means that the police have taken the body parts found in the intestines of the crocodile for genetic testing to confirm the identity of the deceased,” wrote the police.
Lt.-Gen. Puleng Dimpane praised the captain for his bravery.
“Captain Potgieter’s willingness to put his life at risk, to go beyond his duty, shows the unwavering commitment of SAPS members to serve and protect, even when faced with a risk that could cost him his life,” said Dimpane.
Potgieter told the BBC that the crocodile is lying on the island and the only way to get it back is by air. The large animal was shot and killed by his colleagues before part of the mission began, he explained.
“It was turning on its back and they thought it was dead. But when we went back, it was back on the right side, and it was slowly swimming upstream,” Potgieter told reporters, adding that they weren’t sure it was dead until they contacted it.
“I knew it was 100 percent dead,” he said, “Because if it wasn’t dead, it would definitely have attacked me,” he continued.
There were other animals in the area during the operation, including crocodiles and hippos, as well as hazards such as rocks, which made the operation too dangerous to carry out by boat, he said, British media reported.
“Fortunately, due to the sound of the helicopter and the downdraft that was blowing, they took off and did not bother me,” explained the police officer.
Despite nearly four decades of power, this was a first for Potgieter.
“This was the first and I hope it will be the last… there is no way to prepare,” he said, as reported by the BBC.
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