Johandre Blom is in an induced coma after he was attacked during a trip to a fishing resort in South Africa
A 7-year-old boy has lost an arm after he was attacked by a crocodile during a family fishing trip.
According to the Kormorant and the Western Australian, Johandre Blom was on a family trip at the Emanzini Fishing Resort at Roodekoppies Dam along the Crocodile River near Brits, South Africa, when the incident took place on Friday, March 21.
Blom, 7, was playing with his friend in the shallow water when a crocodile attacked him. It was Bekker’s screams that alerted both of their fathers, who came to their rescue, the reports said.
The boy’s father jumped into the water to grab his son, who was being thrashed around by the creature. By the time he was able to get the child free, Blom’s left arm “was missing,” the Kormorant reported.
Both dads then wrapped Blom’s wound in towels before seeking out a hospital in Brits, both outlets reported. Not long after, an ambulance from the Hartbeespoort Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) met them and took the boy to a nearby medical center.
After Blom was stabilized at Mediclinic Brits, he was flown by emergency helicopter to an Alberton hospital. He was placed into an induced coma, the Kormorant and the Pretoria Rekord reported.
According to a BackaBuddy online fundraiser created for Blom, the boy “is currently in the pediatric ICU.”
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The fundraiser, which has raised over $11,000 as of Wednesday, March 26, noted that “there is still a long road ahead for his care and rehabilitation and the medical bills are astronomical,” adding that the money “will be used to pay the hospital fees and future medical bills.”
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According to the Western Australian, a boat was sent out to try to find and recover the boy’s arm from the crocodile, which Bekker’s dad described to the outlet as a “massive thing.”
He also told the Kormorant that after Blom was saved, “we went to see the owner of the resort and advised that the crocodile be [killed]. This must not happen again. It was horrendous.”
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