Crocodile rips off 7-year-old's arm during fishing trip in South Africa's Brits

A “monster” crocodile attacked a seven-year-old boy while he was fishing in a river near South Africa’s Brits town and ripped off his left arm. His father and a few others jumped into the water to save him from the deadly jaws of the crocodile but the reptile was able to bite off the child’s arm and disappeared into the water.

Johandre Blom was on a fishing trip with his family and friends on March 21 at the Roodekoppies Dam, on Crocodile River in Brits when the tragic accident happened. He was sitting with his friend Dylan near the river bank when a crocodile attacked him.

When Dylan noticed the crocodile attacking Johandre, he shouted for help and also held on to him trying to pull him out.


The survivor’s father, Corne, jumped into the river and grabbed his son. The crocodile had by then began the death roll, a circular movement the reptiles use to tear apart their victims before feeding on them.

Corne, who described the crocodile as a “monster”, was soon joined by three other adults including Dylan’s father Jannie Bekker. They managed to rescue the boy but discovered that Johandre was bleeding profusely and his left arm was missing.

Dylan, Corne and others went back into the river to search for the missing arm but there was no sign of it. The crocodile, too, had disappeared into the murky waters.

A rescue boat which was launched to carry out the search saw the crocodile which had attacked Johandre. However, the rescuers too failed to locate Johandre’s arm.

Johandre is undergoing treatment in a hospital where he is under an induced coma. Doctors describe his condition as stable.