An unsuspecting Johandre Blom was playing in the water when the ‘monster’ crocodile pounced – it was only after he had been freed that it became clear he was missing an arm
A seven-year-old boy has been left severely injured after a massive crocodile ripped off his arm as he was enjoying a play in shallow waters while out fishing with his family. The horrific incident happened last Friday near the town of Brits in the North West Province of South Africa.
Johandre Blom was in the Roodekoppies Dam, located on Crocodile River, along with his nine-year-old friend, known only as Dylan. The latter reportedly shouted and screamed once he realised that his pal was being attacked by the giant reptile and tried desperately to help him escape from its sharp jaws.
The victim’s dad, named as Corne, was about 25 metres away in a caravan where he was sitting with Dylan’s dad, Jannie Bekker. “The next moment my little boy screamed,” Mr Bekker later told local media.
He added: “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 in its powerful jaws before his dad and Mr Bekker reached the water where Corne managed to pull him free of the beast, who was still dangerously circling nearby. It was then that they realised the youngster was missing his left arm.
The frantic parents applied towels to the wound before rushing him to hospital by car. Medics were able to stabilise Johandre and he was then flown by helicopter to hospital in Alberton, more than 60 miles away.
Johandre is believed to have been placed in an induced coma and is currently in a stable condition. Corne went on to describe the crocodile that took his boy’s arm as a “monster”. His family have since started a fundraiser on BackaBuddy Fund to raise money to go towards Johandre’s rehabilitation and medical bills, which are said to be “sizeable”.
Mr Bekker said that after the attack a boat was deployed to see if they could see Johandre’s arm in the water – but there was no sign of it. However, the crocodile alleged to have carried out the attack was later spotted in the grass close to the bank.
It reportedly “pestered” the search boat and also bothered people at a nearby resort that same evening. It remains unclear at the time of writing if the crocodile has been captured.
Many people criticised the family upon hearing about the incident for not being more careful about entering the habitat of such a dangerous predator, according to South African media. “I’m sorry about this, and it’s a tragic accident, but the crocodile is doing what he would do naturally anywhere,” said one commenter online.
