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Komati River in Mpumalanga.
Police in Mpumalanga are awaiting DNA test results to enable them to identify the partial human remains found inside a crocodile in the Komati River, near Komatipoort, on Saturday.
Police say they suspect the remains might be those of the 59-year-old Gauteng businessman who went missing while attempting to cross a flooded low-lying bridge over the Komati River on Monday.
It reported that the man’s vehicle was swept away during the attempt.
The vehicle was recovered on Tuesday.
GRAPHIC WARNING | Mpumalanga police say a crocodile they put down had human remains, believed to be those of a 59-year-old Gauteng businessman who went missing in the Komati River. Police add there is evidence to suggest more people may have fallen victim to the reptile. pic.twitter.com/kQpk6yoQW1
— SABC News (@SABCNews) May 2, 2026
After nearly a week of combing the Komati River, the police’s Search and Rescue Unit, with the help of SanParks and a private security company, made the gruesome discovery late on Saturday afternoon. They found partial human remains inside a crocodile.
The crocodile, which had been about 60m from where the businessman’s vehicle was stuck and swept away, was shot and killed. The provincial police diving unit’s Captain Pottie Potgieter says they had been monitoring the crocodile for several days.
“They spotted the crocodiles at the same place now for the past four days. Then after they left, we continued with the drones, and we found the crocodiles still at the same place. So, with our experience and with the training we’ve had, we identified a crocodile there that we basically were 100 percent sure that had eaten the man that we are looking for. When we did do the post-mortem on the crocodile, we found about six sets of different crocs. And the flip-flop shoes that the people were wearing that was also inside the stomach of the crocodile,” says Potgieter.
The family of the missing businessman has been present throughout the search. The devastated family has requested some space to deal with the trauma.
This is the second such incident reported at the Komati River in almost six months. In December last year, two soldiers were swept away while attempting to cross the same bridge.
The body of the first soldier was recovered shortly after the incident, while the partial human remains believed to be those of the second soldier were found six days later.
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety and Security, Jackie Macie, is warning people not to cross the Komati River bridge.
“They must not even try to cross where there is water. We know that for them it’s convenient to move, particularly on the side of the border post to the town in Komatipoort. It makes their work very easy, their movement very easy. So, we call upon all of them to say, they must be cautioned, make sure that they stay away from the bridge, use the N4 Road so that all of us will be safe. You can tell that many people have lost their lives here on this bridge. Some are counted, some are not counted for, it happened in the night,” says Macie.
Macie says plans are underway to decide on the future of the notorious bridge.
RELATED VIDEO | [WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT] Human remains found inside crocodile:
