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A Zimbabwean couple reportedly changed the venue of their wedding ceremony to a hospital ward after a crocodile bit off the bride’s arm some days before the official wedding day.
Zanele Ndlovu, 25, and her now white husband Jamie Fox, 27, were canoeing in the Upper Zambezi River on April 30 when an 8-foot crocodile leapt out of the water, snatching Ndlovu and dragging her into the water.
“The crocodile just jumped out of the water and bit a chunk of my arm together with the side of the boat,” Ndlovu told Zimbabwe’s Chronicle. “The canoe started deflating, and it all happened so fast. The crocodile bit me again and pulled me into the water. My husband was thrown out on the opposite side so the boat was between us.”
That’s when Fox decided to man up and face the animal.
“Jamie swam over to where I was struggling with the crocodile that was trying to pull me to the bottom of the river and grabbed my waist and with the other hand he rained blows down on the crocodile,” Ndlovu told the Telegraph.
The crocodile let go only after tearing Ndlovu’s arm off, wrote the Telegraph. She was taken by a helicopter to a hospital.
“I was shouting, trying to save her,” Fox told the Associated Press. “She was not complaining of pain when we managed to pull her out of the water, maybe because of the shock. We were hoping the doctors would save her arm but that was not to be.”
With Ndlovu still undergoing medical treatment, the couple married in a hospital chapel in Bulawayo, days later. They had to scratch an appearance at their planned wedding venue.
Despite the traumatic experience, Ndlovu isn’t letting the situation get her down.
“I spent a lot of time preparing for my wedding day, running around for a venue, decor and so forth,” she said.
“I didn’t know fate would have me wed in a hospital chapel, with one limb missing. But in all this, I’m not complaining. My wedding was the best, and I have a wonderful husband.”
Ndlovu, who also suffered injuries to her left hand, was released from the hospital on Monday, AP reports. The couple plans to move to the United Kingdom.
