Mozambican footballer killed in attack by ‘16-foot’ crocodile

Neighbours saw a 16-foot crocodile snatch away 19-year-old Mozambique second-division club footballer on the banks of River Zambezi

A young Mozambican football player was snatched and killed by a crocodile while training along the banks of a river, his club said on Monday.

A crocodile lies in wait by the 13th green during practice before the Alfred Dunhill Golf Championship in Malelane, South Africa. (Getty Images)

Estevao Alberto Gino, 19, who played for Mozambique’s second division club Atletico Mineiro de Tete, lived near the Zambezi river in the western province of Tete.

Crocodiles are a common sight at golf courses in the US. In February, a quick-thinking golfer Tony Aarts hit life-saving ‘shots’ with his putter when he used the club to save himself from the clutches of a 10-foot alligator in Florida.

The incident in Maputo happened last Thursday.

“On that night, he was training and after jogging he stretched his hands into the water and that was when the crocodile caught him,” coach Eduardo Carvalho told AFP.

Two neighbours who witnessed the attack estimated the crocodile to have been about five-metres (16-feet) long, and “they could not do anything” to save him, said Carvalho.

Crocodile attacks are common along the Zambezi river.

Local police spokesman Leonel Muchina confirmed the incident to AFP saying the footballer’s body has not yet been found.