Man survives surprise crocodile attack

A Bulawayo man is lucky to be alive after he bravely fought a crocodile while fishing at a supposedly 'safe' fishing site in a dam at Rhodes Matopos National Park.

Emmanuel Mhaka, (32), said he survived from the 'jaws of death' by inserting his hand into the crocodile's mouth, thereby chocking it before his friend tugged him out of the water.

Narrating his ordeal at the United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH) where he has been admitted since Sunday, Mhaka said he was fishing alongside a friend when the cold-blooded predator pounced on him from behind.

"I was fishing with my friend Amos at a dam in Matopos National Park, at around 1400hrs. It then started raining and we thought we should pick up our fish and go to the car.

"While we were gathering the fish we had caught and chatting with my friend, there was a moment when I turned aside, that was when the crocodile attacked me from behind an anthill (sic)," said Mhaka.

He said the crocodile which had 'ambushed' him initially grabbed him by the ankle before it pulled him into the water where it locked its teeth into his thigh.

Mhaka said what gave him the strength to fight back against the reptile were momentary flashes as he 'halucinated' seeing his three-year-old son in deep waters.

"It pulled me deep into the dam until I was neck deep into the water. For a moment, I thought I would die. Then I saw my son on the water, it was then I gathered enough courage to fight on," he said.

In typical movie style, Mhaka said he inserted his hand into the monster's mouth and started pulling anything he would lay his hand on inside the mouth.

"The crocodile had suspended me in water, there was water beneath my feet so I couldn't find any ground to stand upon.

"I then inserted my hand into the crocodile's mouth and started pulling anything i could lay my hand on and in the process, chocked it," said Mhaka.

Crocodiles are known for dragging their victims deep into the water where they would have them drowned and then, using their body weight, tear their prey by twisting itself in what has been dubbed the 'death roll'.

Mhaka said by then, his friend, who risked his life and picked up a stick and got into the water to assist  in the fight against the crocodile, gave him the other end of the stick and attempted to tug him from the crocodile.

"The crocodile then gave up and my friend pulled me out of the water as I held on to the stick," said Mhaka, adding that his friend then took him to the main gate, and then to Matopo Police Base where they reported the incident.

Mhaka's brother John accused parks officials of misleading people into believing that the area was safe for fishing expeditions by the public.

"My brother was told the place is safe for the public to fish. There were a lot of people fishing at the dam that day but in different spots and none heard about the incident until we went back to warn them that someone has been attacked by a crocodile (sic)," he said.

Felix, another one of Emmanuel's brother accused the parks officials of 'dumping' their brother as they did not even bother visiting him, having promised to do so.

"They even had the audacity to beg our brother not to tell anyone about the incident; what are they hidding?

"Do they want someone else to be killed by crocodiles before they can declare the site as unsafe," queried Felix.

Efforts to contact the NatParks officials yesterday were fruitless as they were unreachable on their mobiles phones.