18 year old Amelia Osborn-Smith was attacked by a crocodile while white-water rafting on the Zambezi River, downstream of the Victoria Falls.
Amelia Osborn-Smith. Image: social media
Osborn-Smith was left with her foot hanging loose and a dislocated hip. She was swimming in the river during a break from a white-water rafting expedition when the crocodile attacked. The professional guides had deemed it safe to swim in that area and encouraged the group to cool off in the water. In an interview with The Guardian the teen’s father, Brent Osborn-Smith, said she was bitten on the leg “by a large crocodile, which attempted to drag her down into a characteristic death roll in order to subdue its prey.” She reportedly fought back and with the help of those on board the boat the reptile’s attack was repulsed.
After the rafting crew stemmed the blood loss, Osborn-Smith was evacuated by helicopter to nearby Livingstone, and from there flown a further 90 minutes to a hospital in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, where surgeons were able to save her foot.
Plans are underway to have her transferred to specialist care in a London hospital.
