The remains of a missing South African hotel boss have been found inside the swollen body of a 15-foot crocodile after it was airlifted in a daring operation.
Gabriel Batista, 59, is believed to have been snapped up in the croc-infested Komati River when he was swept away in raging floodwaters last week.
Rescue crews spent days tracking the suspected man-eater before killing it in a desperate attempt to recover the businessman’s remains.
An insane video captured the massive reptile being hoisted from the river via a harness after a police commander was dropped down to retrieve the carnivore, said to weigh more than 1,000 pounds.
When authorities eventually sliced open the croc’s grotesquely swollen tummy, they discovered two severed arms, half a rib cage, and chunks of flesh.
A ring believed to belong to the victim was found on one of the fingers, according to officials.
Shockingly, at least six pairs of shoes — none of which belonged to Batista — were also discovered inside the animal’s stomach.
DNA testing on the body samples found inside the animal is still ongoing.
Authorities are now scrambling to see if any of the shoes can potentially be linked to missing local residents or villagers.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Batista — who owned the Border Country Inn just a short drive away — drowned before being eaten by the croc.
Investigators haven’t ruled out that parts of his remains could also be found inside other crocodiles.
Authorities spent days tracking crocodiles in the region before zeroing in on the suspect, Captain Johan Potgieter said.
“This very large one was not moving in the sun and showed typical signs of recent feeding as it has a massively full tummy and stayed out of the nearby water,” he said.
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“He made no effort to move despite the noise of the drones or our chopper overhead or any inclination to seek out food so we were sure it was this crocodile.”
After authorities sought permission to take out the crocodile, Potgieter then volunteered to be dropped down into the river to help harness the animal.
“There was so many things that could go wrong, and the rope basically lowered me onto the snout of the crocodile so I was kind of hoping it really was properly dead,” he said.
“There were two crocs nearby watching as I slipped the harness around the waist of the dead crocodile and secured it under the front legs and tightened the strap.”
“Then I signaled to the chopper, and it just took me straight up, leaving a lot of big crocodiles behind, and then we flew to a landing zone to open the croc up,” he added.
