Boy, 7, has arm ripped off by crocodile in front of parents while playing
A seven-year-old boy lost his arm after a crocodile ripped it off as he splashed in shallow water during a fishing trip last Friday.
Johandre Blom was playing in the water with a friend, just a few feet from their parents, when he was attacked by the large reptile in Roodekoppies Dam, located on the Crocodile River, South Africa.
His friend, named only as Dylan, 9, screamed and tried to help him before Johandre’s dad, Corne, ran from the caravan onshore.
Dylan’s father, Jannie Bekker, told local media: ‘The next moment my little boy screamed. I saw him grab Johandre by the arm, but there was a big jerk and then Johandre was away from Dylan.
‘Dylan shouted, ‘There’s a crocodile here’, and Corne and I immediately ran to the water.’
Johandre was thrown around by the crocodile before his dad managed to pull him free.
They managed to pull him from the water while risking being attacked by the crocodile still circling nearby, but he was missing his left arm.
They applied towels to the wound before rushing him to the hospital by car.
Medics managed to stabilise Johandre before flying him to another hospital in Alberton.
Johandre is now fighting for his life in an induced coma but has been stabilised.
The young boy’s family have started a fundraiser on BackaBuddy Fund to raise cash for his rehabilitation and medical bills.
The crocodile believed to have attacked the boy was spotted in the grass near the bank, with witnesses saying it pestered a boat and people at a nearby resort that evening.
Last summer, the ‘gruesome’ remains of a 12-year-old girl who went missing after a suspected crocodile attack were found by police.
The victim went missing after going swimming in Mango Creek in Palumpa, a remote town in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The remains of the 12-year-old were recovered after a 36-hour search effort by police and locals.
Though Australia and South Africa have higher levels of crocodile attacks, Indonesia takes the cake.
Indonesia has seen the most crocodile attacks in the world over the past decade – with a reported 1,000 separate incidents recorded.
A shocking 450 people were killed by crocodiles in the same period.
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