Briton’s bride loses her arm in crocodile attack – but they still marry just five days later
A BRIDE who had her arm bitten off by a crocodile just before her wedding went ahead and got married five days after the attack.
Briton Jamie Fox and his Zimbabwean fiancee Zanele Ndlovu were canoeing down the Zambezi River above Victoria Falls – where they were due to marry – when the crocodile struck.
Charity worker Mr Fox came to her rescue and applied a makeshift tourniquet to her near-severed arm but his bride was losing so much blood it was feared she might die.
Miss Ndlovu, 25, was taken to hospital where surgeons managed to save her life – but the former tennis player lost most of her right arm after doctors decide to amputate.
Despite her horrific injuries, she was determined not to miss her wedding day and was allowed to use the hospital chapel to get married. A minister presided over the remarkable ceremony at the Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on Sunday – only a day after schedule, albeit at a different venue. The bride wore a white sleeveless wedding dress with her stump heavily bandaged and held pink roses in her left hand.
As Mr Fox placed the wedding ring on her left hand, a canula could be seen attached to her wrist, which had also been bitten.
She signed the register as the minister looked on to huge applause from family and friends.
Mr Fox, from Bromley, south-east London, paid tribute to his ‘amazing’ wife, who he fell in love with on a visit to Zimbabwe two years ago .
He told the Daily Mirror: ‘She’s been so brave and to be able to get married just five days after this happened is unbelievable.
‘She’s just been discharged and we will spend a couple of nights in a hotel. We were planning a honeymoon later anyway. What a way to start married life!’ He said after the wedding he and his wife stayed on at the hospital, while guests partied at the venue on the newlyweds’ orders. Describing the crocodile attack, Mr Fox added: ‘ It just jumped from the water and grabbed her arm. I could see her arm hanging off and it was really serious.
‘The doctors said it was best to amputate. There wasn’t any choice really. Her arm was hanging off.’
A witness said: ‘ It is a quite remarkable love story and it really does show their love for each other. The crocodile attack made no difference. Their feelings and love for each other are even stronger than before if anything.’ Miss Ndlovu is a former national tennis player. It is understood she is left-handed and may be able to play again. Many tourist companies run canoeing adventures on the Zambezi, which is the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Crocodiles are Zimabwe’s most lethal wild killers, with 21 people dying last year.
‘A remarkable love story’