A 50-year-old Ballito woman remains in intensive care after being mauled by a hippopotamus while on holiday in St Lucia yesterday evening.

According to reports from the scene, the woman, her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were swimming at a community pool when loadshedding struck, leaving them in darkness.

“The three exited the pool and were walking back to their resort accommodation when they were confronted by an adult hippo and its calf. Upon noticing the hippo, the trio ran to escape the charging animal but unfortunately the woman got caught and she was bitten and trampled,” said Netcare 911 spokesperson, Shawn Herbst.

The other two were able to escape without injury and called for emergency services.

“St Lucia NSRI Station 19, with the START Rescue team, were called to assist the wounded lady When a Netcare 911 operations team arrived on scene they found the woman in a critical condition,” said Herbst.

Despite being treated by an emergency care practitioner, the woman’s health was quickly deteriorating and the decision was made to airlift her to hospital.

St Lucia Saps are investigating the incident.

This is a developing story.

* This story has been updated to reflect that the woman was swimming at a community pool, rather than one in a resort. The Facebook excerpt has been similarly updated. 

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