American kayakers say crocodile came from behind, ripping guide from his boat

For weeks, three kayakers exploring a series of rivers through the heart of Africa came together in a close formation designed to ward off hippo and crocodile attacks whenever they paddled the quiet green glides between thundering stretches of whitewater.

The boaters — two Americans and a South African — traveled some 1,000 miles of river this way, through some of the densest concentrations of man-killing wildlife in the world. They were on a quiet stretch of the Lukuga River in Congo, paddling just 4 or 5 feet apart, when a crocodile slipped up from behind and ripped trip leader Hendri Coetzee from his red plastic boat.

With no time to do anything but say "Oh, my God!" Coetzee was gone, hauled beneath the green water never to be seen again.

"The crocodile just pulled him right underwater," Chris Korbulic told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday from Reno, Nev., where he was visiting his brother. "I think we both were just in complete shock and disbelief, and absolutely horrified at what had just happened."

Very similar to the movie “Black Water”, only all four were in one boat when the guide was taken by a croc. Crocs are smarter than people give them credit. What a foolish thing to do, kayak in crocwaters...unbelievable!

"They also hoped to bring attention to the crisis of millions of people dying from poor water quality in a region overflowing with water."

Good news/Bad news: They've "brought attention," but it turns out poor water quality wasn't the problem after all.

No sir he died scared, and alone at the bottom of a river. He was terrified. His last words, according to witnesses, was Oh My God!!!! It was foolish and no comparison to any rational risk taking activity can compare to how idiotic this kayaking trip was. No camping trip to bear country, no sky diving trip, no swimming in shark infested waters compares to this. Bears and sharks usually leave people alone even when being in the vicinity of them. Parachutes almost always open and function properly. Bungy cords usually work. Mountain climbers usually do just fine. The rivers in Africa have nearly 500,000 crocodiles infesting them. Crocodiles, particularly the large species, are very aggressive and have no fear of man. I get so tired of folks trying to bring sanity to such an insane thing. The only thing worse than kayaking the various African Rivers is attempting to swim them. This was foolish, and spoke of arrogance. These folks thought they did not have to abide by the laws of nature. Now a poor souls family has to suffer because of his poor judgment. I would never be on any crocodile infested river, by choice, in any small watercraft. Fool hearted arrogant behavior that got a man killed. Good Day,

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