A soccer player in Costa Rica was eaten by a crocodile after jumping into a river infested with semi aquatic reptiles, according to reports.
Shocking footage from last week captured the large crocodile swimming through the water with the lifeless body of 29-year-old Jesus “Chucho” Lopez Ortiz clenched inside its jaws.
“‘Help me, help me, my friend is not coming out of the water,’” Marcos Chavarria, a local resident, recalled hearing one of Ortiz’s friends shouting as he called out desperately for help.
Santa Cruz Police Sergeant Marcelino Hernandez said that Ortiz jumped into the Cañas River from a bridge that was closed for fishing because of the presence of crocodiles in the water.
The frightening incident took place some 140 miles from San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, near the town of Santa Cruz in the province of Guanacaste.
Ortiz was a member of Deportivo Río Cañas, an amateur club team located in Carrillo, and has since confirmed his death in a statement.
“With deep sorrow, we make public the death of our player Jesus Lopez Ortiz (Chucho) may God enjoy. Rest in Peace Chucho, we join the pain of all your family,” the team said in a Facebook post. “Today we said goodbye to you ‘Chucho’; today, around a thousand people accompany you representing all your friends, family, and the entire country that was with you.”
His team also cautioned netizens not to post videos of the gruesome incident.
“Today we said goodbye to you ‘Chucho’; today, around a thousand people accompany you representing all your friends, family, and the entire country that was with you,” the Rio Cañas soccer team said.
As for the crocodile in question, local authorities shot and killed the crocodile to recover Ortiz’s remains, according to the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC).
A SINAC official also denied the victim’s family’s claims that the river was overpopulated with crocodiles and argued that the animals could provide locals with economic benefits.
“We are trying for the population to understand that it is an opportunity that we have that can be used in ecotourism and can be an opportunity to generate employment for the communities and not see it only as a threat,” SINAC official Mauricio Mendez said.
