A professional soccer player died in an incident in a crocodile-infested river.
Jesus “Chucho” Lopez Ortiz, 29, jumped into the Cañas River near Santa Cruz, Costa Rica, from a closed bridge, which was off-limits for fishing due to the presence of dangerous crocodiles on Saturday, July 29.
Footage captured a large prehistoric-looking creature swimming with Ortiz’s lifeless body in its jaws, witnessed by onlookers.
Ortiz was a member of the Deportivo Río Cañas, an amateur club team in Carrillo, and his passing was confirmed in a statement on the team’s Facebook page.
The local authorities and the Costa Rican Red Cross had to shoot and kill the protected crocodile to retrieve Ortiz’s remains. Otherwise it is prohibited to hunt or kill protected animals.
Chucho, a family man, coach, and player, is survived by his two children, aged eight and three. His loss was deeply mourned, and the community came together to pay their respects during the Santa Cruz funeral. Thousands of people flooded the streets to say goodbye.
This isn’t the first incident of a crocodile-related tragedy in Costa Rica. In October 2022, an eight-year-old boy named Julio Otero Fernandez suffered a similar fate in the city of Limon. He was mauled to death and decapitated by a crocodile in the Matina River.
