Photo: David Keyton/AP/Shutterstock
The man was enjoying a private crawfish party at the Skansen Aquarium in Stockholm on Tuesday when the crocodile suddenly bit him,BBC NewsandThe Local Swedenreported.
Despite the horrifying incident, the man was reportedly in “stable” condition following the attack, the news outlet reported.
When emergency responders arrived on the scene, Pettersson said, “He was heavily bandaged when we arrived on the scene.”
In 1978, Castro gifted two crocodiles to a Russian cosmonaut. The cosmonaut then gave the animals — named Castro and Hillary — to the aquarium in 1981, according toThe Local Sweden. Castro died in 2016.
It is not immediately clear which crocodile attacked the man.
The man’s identity has not been revealed to the public.
Jonas Wahlström, head of the Skansen Aquarium, has also spoken out about the incident. Wahlström explained toThe Local Swedenthat he organized the crawfish party — which is a Swedish tradition that normally takes place during this time of year — and was there at the time of the event.
He shared that he saw the man with his arm dangled on the glass, however, when he went to warn him it was too late.
“What I saw was that he climbed up on a rock and was holding one of his arms over the glass barrier of the crocodile exhibit because he was going to give a speech, Wahlström toldThe Local Sweden.
“He turned his back and the crocodile saw his hand coming down from his arm and just attacked him and bit him,” he explained to the outlet, adding that the attack lasted for about “ten seconds.”
“Luckily, the crocodile dropped him after maybe ten seconds so he could be taken care of,” Wahlström said toThe Local Sweden.
Wahlström went on to share that the man is expected to recover, tellingThe Local Sweden, “He may have severe wounds on his arm that I don’t know anything about at the moment, because he was taken to the hospital late last evening.”
“I haven’t spoken to him, but I expect to hear from his family soon.”
In response to the incident, Wahlström says the aquarium is considering redesigning the enclosure so that guests are not as exposed to the crocodiles.
“First of all, we have to change a little bit on the walls for crocodiles so it’s impossible to climb up like what he did. And we started that work today. Nothing like this has ever happened with these crocodiles before, we’ve had them for more than 40 years,” Wahlström toldThe Local Sweden.
The aquarium did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
