British student, 18, says she was ‘very, very lucky’ to survive crocodile attack
6 December 2021, 09:49
Woman treated in Zambia hospital after being attacked by a crocodile
A British student has said she was "very, very lucky" to survive an attack from a crocodile while holidaying in Zambia.
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Amelie Osborn-Smith, 18, was left fighting for her life after she was dragged into a death roll by the reptile, during a swim with friends.
The teenager from Hampshire had been in the Zambezi river near the Victoria Falls.
Speaking from her hospital bed in a video from Medland Hospital, she said: "You don't really think in that situation, obviously people say you see your life flash before your eyes or whatever but you don't, you just think 'how do I get out of this situation?'
"And your brain just goes into overdrive and you just think how to get out but I was just very, very lucky.
She added: "When the accident happened I fully accepted the fact I was going to lose my foot and I accepted that and I'd said to all my friends, it's fine, I've lost my foot, I'm still alive and then I was told my foot is fine and I'm going to be able to walk again and it's such a relief."
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Despite being hospitalised, the teen remained positive about her experience, recommending others visit Zambia too.
When asked by Dr. Mohamed El Sahili - Medland Hospital's CVO - what she would tell others, she said: "Don’t let an incident like this put you off because it doesn’t happen often.
"I was very lucky but I think that, especially now, I’ve just seen that life can be over so quickly, so if you’re going to live - it sounds so cliché - but if you’re going to live thinking ‘I’m going to regret everything’ you’re never going to have a fulfilled life.
"I just think do it all while you can and don’t let one incident hold you back.”
Ms Osborn-Smith was on a white-water rafting trip during a gap-year visit to the African country, where her grandmother owns a farm, according to the Sun.
She was reportedly rescued by friends who punched the crocodile before dragging her into a boat.
A helicopter later took her to an aid post in nearby Livingstone and then on to the capital Lusaka, 240 miles away, where surgeons managed to save her foot.
