By Botho Molosankwe
The body of an American doctor who was pulled out of a canoe by a crocodile in the Limpopo River in Botswana has been found.
Botswana Police Deputy Commissioner Thebeyame Timako on Wednesday confirmed that Dr Richard Root's remains had been found not far from where the crocodile had pulled him into the river.
Root, 68, had been in the country at the invitation of Botswana's Ministry of Health to work at the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone.
He was providing care for patients, teaching interns and medical officers and was involved in outreach programmes.
At the weekend he left Gaborone and visited one of the clinics at Tuli Block, over 400km away.
Jill Jones, the programme manager for the University of Pennsylvania, said the doctor and his wife, Rita, had gone canoeing on the Limpopo River. They had taken two canoes and each had a guide with them. The university is involved in an outreach programme with the Botswana government.
"Root was in a canoe in front and Rita in another one behind him. 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," she said. "Rita escaped unharmed."
Jones said the guide who was with Root in the canoe had been traumatised by the incident. She said the man thought he was accountable for Root's death because he had taken him to the river.
"He keeps blaming himself," Jones said.
The Roots had arrived in Botswana on February 25 and had been at the hospital for only three weeks when the tragedy struck. Jones said Root had been keen to help curb the devastation caused by HIV and Aids in Botswana.
"He wanted to help and he had a lot to offer. How could someone who was doing so much good be taken away so tragically? It is so unfair. He was always teaching the doctors and encouraging them to stay in Botswana and not to leave for other countries.
"God works in mysterious ways," said a tearful Jones.
She said the Roots had been married for 18 months. They had both lost partners tragically.
"They found happiness in each other. I am touched to have been able to meet someone like him. He was so amazing. The whole programme is stunned by his death," she said.
Timako said there were no records of people who had been attacked or eaten by crocodiles in the area. He said he only knew of incidents that happened in rivers such as Okavango and Chobe.