Crocodile Kills Kayaker in Congo

Added by David Sandercock on December 10, 2010

A crocodile has killed renowned South African kayaker on expedition in the Democratic Republic of Congo, say Africa kayak expedition sponsor.

Hendrik Coetzee, Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbulic, two American kayakers, were on the Lukuga River when a crocodile pulled Coetzee from his kayak on Tuesday. The “Born Out There” blog reported that Stookesberry and Korbulic managed to paddle to safety and were later rescued by the International Rescue Committee.

Eddie Bauer, the clothing and outdoor gear company representative, said that the aim of the mission was to try out and document the region’s unexplored whitewaters. The focus was also on the clean water crisis affecting Central Africa.

Coetzee last entry on his “The Great White Explorer” blog was on November 26, when he spoke of the beauty of the region: “As hard, warm drops trashed at our little selves and a pair of goats, we stood precariously on a unknown slope deep in the heart of Africa, for once my mind and heart agreed, I would never live a better day.”

Coetzee was well-known in the industry after leading the first Nile River source-to-sea expedition in 2004. He also completed the infamous Murchisons Falls stretch of the Nile in Uganda solo.