Tourist is mauled by hippo: "I thought that was it"
Zambia - Roland Cherry (63) was on a five-week vacation trip through southern Africa with his wife Shirley when he suffered severe flesh wounds all over his body in a hippopotamus attack.
The couple from Warwickshire, England, were in the third week of their summer trip. The next highlight of their vacation: a guided group safari on the Kafue River in Zambia, South Africa.
While everything went smoothly at first, an unforeseen accident suddenly occurred. A hippopotamus, which was just below the canoe, attacked the boat and lifted it out of the water.
The group leader ordered everyone involved to swim ashore immediately and get to safety. But Roland had a problem as he had dislocated his shoulder. "I couldn't swim, so I was like sitting on a platter. I was still trying to move forward with one arm, but that didn't work - and then it grabbed me," he told the BBC.
The tourist from the UK was pulled to the bottom of the river. Roland couldn't see the hippo, but at that moment he was sure his time was up.
"I remember thinking, 'Oh no, what a way to go ... I'm not ready to die yet.' I thought that was it, because nobody survives hippo attacks."
After hippo attack: Small hospital in the countryside saves Roland's life
The hippo released Roland at the bottom of the river and his life jacket lifted him back to the surface. This allowed the vacationer to take a "big gulp of air" before the hippo grabbed him again.
"I was grabbed again and flung through the air like a rag doll, but towards the shore, which was a godsend," Roland recalled. There he was able to get to safety.
Roland was taken to the Mtendere Mission Hospital in the nearby village of Chirundu with serious injuries. He had suffered a ten-centimeter-long wound to his abdomen, a thigh injury and other wounds.
"As soon as we arrived, this small African hospital was on the spot. Without thinking twice, they took me to the operating room to treat my wounds," said Roland.
"If they hadn't acted so quickly, it was very likely that sepsis would have set in, which could have been fatal."
Roland was later taken to the Milpark Clinic in Johannesburg, where he underwent six operations . "What impressed me most about this near-death experience was the kindness of strangers," says the Englishman.
As a thank you for the initial treatment in Chirundu, which saved Roland's life, he now wants to raise 20,000 pounds (equivalent to around 24,000 euros). The hospital could use this money to buy urgently needed medical equipment.