• Human remains found after aerial-assisted river search
• DNA tests underway to confirm link to missing businessman swept away by floods

South African police have recovered human remains following a high-risk operation in which an officer was lowered by helicopter into a crocodile-infested river during the search for a businessman who went missing in last week’s floods.

The suspect crocodile believed to have consumed the missing man had already been killed, but police diving unit commander Captain Johan “Buti” Botha-Greeff said the mission remained extremely dangerous.

Botha-Greeff said: “Getting close to the sharp end of a crocodile is not the best place to be dealing with it.”

After the animal was secured with a rope, it was airlifted from the Komati River in the country’s northeast.

DNA testing is now being carried out to determine whether the remains belong to the missing man.

According to police, the businessman’s vehicle became trapped while attempting to cross a low bridge submerged by floodwaters last week. When officers arrived, the car was empty, strengthening suspicions that he had been swept away, said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Maphila Masondo.

Drones and helicopters were deployed during the search operation, which also revealed a small island where several crocodiles were seen basking in the sun.

Investigators later observed one crocodile showing signs it had recently fed, including a noticeably distended abdomen and unusual inactivity despite the noise from aircraft overhead.

The animal was later shot before what police described as a “complex and extremely dangerous operation” to recover human remains.

The large crocodile, measuring around 4.5 metres and weighing approximately 500 kilograms, was flown to nearby Kruger National Park, where remains were discovered inside its body.

Botha-Greeff also noted that alongside body parts, six different types of shoes were recovered, raising the possibility of additional victims, although he stressed this was not confirmed, adding: “A crocodile will swallow or eat anything.”

Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane praised Botha-Greeff’s courage and the role he played in carrying out the hazardous operation.