Terrifying details have emerged
A hotel owner from South Africa who was reported missing is believed to have been eaten by a crocodile, after human remains were found inside its body.
Gabriel Batista disappeared around a week ago after his car became stranded as he attempted to traverse the Komati River in the north-eastern region of South Africa.
During the crossing attempt, Batista, 59, is reported to have been carried away by surging floodwaters.
According to officials, it is not certain whether Batista drowned before the crocodile attack or if the crocodile consumed him while he was still alive.
Officers deployed drones and helicopters over the crocodile-infested waterway for four consecutive days, after Batista vanished.
DNA analysis to confirm the identity
However, to establish the victim’s identity definitively, DNA analysis will be conducted on the recovered remains, it was reported.
Search teams noticed the crocodile with an unusually bloated belly resting on a small island in the river, as they were doing aerial surveillance of the area.
“Besides having a massively full tummy, he didn’t move around or try to slip into the river despite the noise of the drones and the chopper”, Captain Johan “Pottie” Potgieter, who leads a police dive unit, told News24.
The crocodile was then shot by a police marksman positioned in a helicopter, and then it was airlifted to the nearby Kruger National Park for examination.
The grim evidence within the crocodile’s stomach was uncovered by veterinary specialists who performed a field necropsy on the half-tonne reptile.
Disturbing details of what was found inside the crocodile
Two severed arms, portions of rib cage, and fragments of flesh from inside the reptile were retrieved by investigators.
A ring that is thought to have belonged to Batista was also discovered among the remains, it was reported.
To make things even more disturbing, within the crocodile’s digestive system they found six different types of footwear.
This could potentially indicate the reptile had attacked other victims previously, Captain Potgieter suggested, although he cautioned against drawing firm conclusions.
He noted that “a crocodile will eat or swallow anything”, while explaining that the shoes might not necessarily mean that it killed other humans.
The victim of the crocodile attack
Batista was the owner of the Border Country Inn and sports bar, which located a short distance from the bridge where he went missing.
He was described as “a lovely guy and a family man” by a spokesman for the establishment, and as a person who was popular with customers.
He was living in Johannesburg, South Africa’s capital, but often visited his business and was travelling to work when he was swept away by the floodwaters.
As among the most dangerous reptiles in the planet, crocodiles of the Nile kill several hundred people in a year.
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