Woman fights off crocodile with her bare hands - her story in her words

By DEREK CLONTZ
Your World Report

A young marine biologist narrowly escaped a horrifying death when she was snatched up in the crushing jaws of one of the most relentless killing machines on Earth - an African crocodile.

Despite the shock waves of pain that surged through her body, 23-year-old Dominique Vildeau battled the savage beast with her bare fists until it finally released its death grip, giving her time to swim to safety.

“I never saw it until it grabbed my leg and pulled me down,” Vildieu told me in a telephone interview from her hospital room in Kinshasa, Zaire, where surgeons struggled for hours in a successful effort to save her left leg.

“The first I knew of it was when I felt its teeth crunch into … story continues at derekclontz.com my thigh. I thought my whole leg was being ripped from my body. The pain was excruciating. I thought I was going to die.”

The French biologist was snorkeling for aquatic specimens in a remote river in the Congo Basin when the 14-foot croc struck from behind without any warning.

“It hit me so hard, it almost knocked my mask off,” she told me. “The instant it had my leg, the croc started spinning and pulling me down to the bottom.

“I managed to pull my leg free and get to the surface for a good breath of air before it had me again.

“I started punching and clawing the croc in the eyes as hard as I could. The pain in my leg was almost unbearable, but I couldn’t stop punching. I was fighting for my life.”

“But I needed to breathe. My lungs were screaming for air. Just as I thought it was all over, the croc opened its mouth and I was able to jerk my leg free. I started swimming for shore as fast as I could.

“I was dragging myself up the bank when the croc suddenly shot to the surface right behind me and made another lunge for me. But I flung myself up and over the bank and its teeth just grazed my right leg.”

Bleeding horribly from the shredded wound in her left thigh, Vildieu ripped off her bra and used it as a tourniquet. Somehow she managed to crawl to her radio-equipped van where she was able to summon medical help.

Question? Comment? What do you think? Write Your World Report Editor Derek Clontz . He reads and responds personally to every letter, often within minutes and always within one business day.

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