Man survives buffalo attack

A 55-YEAR-OLD man from Chinotimba in Victoria Falls survived a buffalo attack while crossing a railway line between Kingdom Hotel and Landela complex in the resort town on Thursday last week.
Buffalo-pix

In an interview from his hospital bed at Victoria Falls Hospital yesterday, Mangisi Tshuma said the unexpected attack had left him with two broken ribs on his left side and a big scar on his forehead.

Tshuma said what started as normal routine on Thursday morning while on his way to work at Emadoyilini curios shops turned into horror when he was attacked by a male buffalo as he was walking along the railway line near the railway station.

Tshuma said he saw the buffalo at very close range as he was walking along the railroad, but it was too late for him to escape as it charged towards him instantly.

"I was probably a metre and a half from the buffalo," he said.

"I sort of thought of running, but then the next thing it gored me with its horns just below my left ribs and flung me into the air."

Tshuma said he landed on his back right in the middle of the railway line and it attacked him again leaving him with a huge scar on his forehead before it left.

"I got up and crawled along the railway line. Fortunately the buffalo's horn narrowly missed piecing my heart and just broke my ribs," he said.

"If the horn had gone up instead of down, l would have died. It was really close to my heart."

Tshuma was ferried to hospital by a driver who witnessed the entire buffalo attack.