A missing person case from South Africa earned viral status online this week for all the wrong reasons. While carrying out a “highly dangerous and complex operation” at the Komati River, police ended up retrieving a crocodile containing human remains, according to a news release by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
According to the BBC, the 15-ft crocodile weighed more than 1,100 lbs. It has since been flown to Kruger National Park, where the shocking discovery was ultimately made.
The recovery of human remains from the reptile’s intestines made for heart-rending headlines amid the ongoing search for a businessman who went missing in the area after being swept away by floodwaters earlier.
In addition to sharing the footage capturing the rope operation on camera, authorities are also suspecting the remains belong to 59-year-old Gabriel Batista, the hotel boss police had been trying to find, according to local news outlet 1News.
Human remains found in crocodile amid missing businessman reports
Official confirmation is awaited, as the DNA of the recovered remains from inside the reptile has yet to be analysed. “The discovery of the remains means that the police have now taken the body parts found in the intestines of the crocodile for DNA analysis to confirm the identity of the deceased,” said Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane.
As per the details of the development shared by officials, Captain Johan “Pottie” Potgieter led the operation. Footage released online shows a rope being lowered from a helicopter to retrieve a crocodile, which was dead at the time. Officials euthanised the reptile to aid the officers and experts involved in the operation.
SAPS’ news release underscored the police captain “was hoisted from a SANPARKS helicopter into a crocodile-infested river, where he courageously secured a crocodile using a rope under extremely dangerous conditions.”
How did South African police find human remains inside the crocodile?
The helicopter-rope operation came after a week-long search for Batista, who was reported missing on April 28, according to South African newspapers The Citizen and SABC News.
The hotel boss’ car was left stranded after reportedly attempting to cross a bridge last week, Mpumalanga provincial police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo told SABC. After arriving at the scene, officers found that the businessman was no longer in the vehicle.
During their search operations involving drones and helicopters, police stumbled upon an island with several crocodiles. Potgieter told BBC’s local outlet News24 that he noticed one of them had recently eaten, as he couldn’t ignore signs like “a massively full tummy,” and the reptile’s noticeable immobility at the time despite the loud noise of drones and a helicopter in the area.