A police search and rescue team from the Riatvi policing area near Tzaneen in the Mopani District went beyond the call of duty on Thursday when they searched for the body of a drowning victim while dodging a dangerous Hippo.
Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mamphaswa Seabi says the 26-year-old drowning victim and his 34-year-old colleague were busy removing illegal fishing nets in a dam after it was left behind by poachers.
He says the workers were in a canoe on the dam, without lifejackets, when a crocodile got caught in the net.
Lieutenant Colonel Seabi says when the duo unexpectedly caught a crocodile in the nets they tried to set it free but in the struggle, it tipped over their cano.
He says the older worker managed to swim to safety but his colleague, Guidance Manganye, drowned.
The dam is infested with crocodiles and hippos and divers had to acquire suitable equipment to repel the hippos before they could retrieve the body.
Lieutenant Colonel Seabi says after long gruelling hours playing cat and mouse with a hippo they managed to retrieve Manganye's body.
The Limpopo Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe praise the rescue team for carrying out a difficult task with such zealous efforts.
