14-Year-Old Mauled To Death By Crocodile While Trying To Cross River

In a tragic incident, a 14-year-old boy was mauled to death by a crocodile while trying to cross a river in Zimbabwe. The incident took place on Saturday and authorities were able to retrieve the victim's body on Monday.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said that after they were alerted about the incident, professionals searched for the teenager's remains for hours.

"We fortunately managed to retrieve the body mid-day. We were working with the sub-aqua unit and also our officers down there," he said. “It’s unfortunate and a sad development. We are deeply saddened as an authority.”

Authorities said that a strict precaution is being taken in the area to make sure such an incident does not occur in the past. However, the type of precaution was not revealed at the time. Following the incident, professional hunters put down the crocodile to reduce the risk of any further attacks in the area.

Farawo said the biggest problem in such incidents was that there was overpopulation of animals — especially elephants and crocodiles, resulting in them invading communities.

In a similar incident in February, an 11-year-old boy was killed in a crocodile attack in Binga district of Zimbabwe,.According to local reports, the boy was swimming in a stream with his friends when the crocodile attacked him. The reptile dragged the victim into the deeper part and viciously attacked him. The boy succumbed to the injuries.

“I can confirm receiving a report of a fatal crocodile attack. A young boy was dragged into deep waters at a stream at Binga Centre. Police attended the scene and retrieved the body," Farai Marinyane, the acting Binga district coordinator, said.

Earlier this year, a Nile Crocodile viciously attacked a man and “tore his leg into pieces” when he went fishing in a Zimbabwean lake. The unidentified 31-year-old man was attacked by the reptile from behind when he was trying to catch a fish. The man and the crocodile struggled for five minutes. The man managed to escape and reached a hospital five hours later. Doctors said the man had suffered “significant tissue loss” and one of his fingers was bitten in half. He underwent emergency surgery at the time and the damaged flesh was cut off.