BARBERTON – A hippo trophy hunt took a turn for the worse when two men, who went to fetch the carcass, went missing.
Jaco Potgieter, an eyewitness who still cannot come to terms with what happened, said it was like a scene from a movie.
“I was always intrigued to see the processing of the carcass, so one of the parties involved notified me of the hunt at a private dam near Barberton,” said Potgieter.
An official at the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) confirmed that the hunt that had been applied for and approved by the agency, and it took place on Monday.
“Upon arrival, the hunt had already taken place and we waited for the carcass to surface,” said Potgieter.

Mthabini Emmanuel (28) and Mohando Joseph (44) were then sent in with a canoe to fetch it. “At around 20:00, with the scene lit up with a spotlight, about 100 metres from where we were standing, we saw one of the men jabbing at something with his paddle,” he recalled.
The next moment, in the time frame of about five seconds, the men disappeared. And then, calm returned.
“The search was over and the men just never resurfaced. The water was like a mirror, and they were just gone,” said a traumatised Potgieter.

“I have been waiting so long for this opportunity, but it turned to an absolute tragedy that still keeps me from sleeping.”
Though he could not see what exactly transpired, he clearly remembered something from beneath the surface, capsizing the boat. “The next moment, all that was left was their canoe drifting on the water. What did I just witness?”
The Ehlanzeni Diving Unit found the first body on Monday with the help of the police’s air wing, followed by the second on Tuesday.

Although it hasn’t been confirmed if a bask of crocodiles on the bank of the dam were involved in the attack, bite marks were visible on one of the bodies. About two weeks ago, a crocodile that was suspected to be the culprit was shot, but when cut open, nothing was found.

An inquest has been opened at Barberton Police Station.

Police recover another two bodies in Mpumalanga