Dr Richard Root was working in Botswana (Image: Find a Grave)
A prominent American infectious disease expert who had travelled to the African nation of Botswana to assist with the country’s HIV epidemic was fatally attacked in front of his devastated wife when an enormous crocodile dragged him from a canoe into a river.
68-year-old Richard Root had been invited on behalf of Botswana’s Ministry of Health to work at a hospital in Gaborone, the nation’s capital.
Root, who had served as chairman of medicine at the prestigious Yale University, alongside several other leading organisations across the States, was charged with training young medics and delivering care to patients, and had been working in Botswana for just weeks when the incident occurred.
During a rare weekend break, back in 2006, he and his wife Rita ventured across the country to visit a remote clinic in a region called Tuli Block, and chose to hire some canoes to explore the renowned Limpopo river.
The couple were in separate canoes, each accompanied by an experienced guide, though nothing could have stopped what unfolded next, reports the Daily Star.
Dr Root was a world-renowned specialist (Image: Find a Grave)
According to reports from the time, the assault came without warning, with the guide scarcely able to yell ‘croc’ before Root was yanked from his vessel.
In a statement issued by a spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania, where Root worked at the time, the attack was over almost as quickly as it had started.
« Root was in a canoe in front and Rita in another one behind him, » she said.
Dr Root has taken a rare weekend off (Image: Final Affliction/Youtube)
« They just heard one of the guides shout ‘croc’ and then a crocodile appeared, pulled Root out of the canoe and took him straight down under. He was never seen again. It is believed that the crocodile was about 4.5m in length. »
Botswana Police Deputy Commissioner Thebeyame Timako subsequently confirmed the doctor’s remains had been discovered « not far from where the crocodile had pulled him into the river ». His body was retrieved four days following the attack.
Timako stated there were no known records of similar fatal attacks in that particular area, observing that such incidents were more frequently associated with other local rivers such as the Okavango and Chobe.
He was canoeing on the Limpopo river (Image: Reuters)
Colleagues characterised Root as being entirely motivated by a desire to help curb the devastation caused by HIV and Aids in a country where infection rates are amongst the highest in the world.
« He wanted to help and he had a lot to offer, » one doctor who worked with Jones said. « How could someone who was doing so much good be taken away so tragically? It is so unfair.
The crocodile grabbed him out of the canoe (Image: Konstantin Iagoudine / Getty Images)
« He was always teaching the doctors and encouraging them to stay in Botswana and not to leave for other countries. »
She added simply: « The whole programme is stunned by his death. »
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