On March 18, the story of an Australian man who barely survived being eaten by a crocodile when he dove into a river full of reptiles went viral.
What could possibly be the reason for this man’s daring dive into a dangerous situation? Was he saving someone’s life?
The reason behind his near-fatal encounter with the crocodile is a rather sweet - if not completely stupid - story.
18-year-old Lee de Paauw was at a backpackers’ boarding house in the town of Innisfail, Northern Queensland. He was drinking with a group of friends when they met a British tourist named Sophie Paterson.
As it turns out, De Paauw had a crush on the backpacking blonde. He tried to show off his manliness by bragging to her that he could swim safely in the Johnstone River.
One problem: the Johnstone River is a known habitat of saltwater crocodiles.
De Paauw even boasted that backpackers or tourists were more likely to get eaten by the ferocious reptiles than native Australians.
According to Paterson, De Paauw’s friends (all of whom were probably drunk) goaded him into jumping into the crocodile infested waters.
Not good.
De Paauw, feeling pressured by his friends to impress his new crush, decided to do it.
Not good.
The second De Paauw dove into the waters, a crocodile attacked the young man and dragged six meters away from the dock.
Definitely not good.
“Holy crap, I’m gone for sure,” De Paauw remembered during his interview at Cairns hospital.
“At that point, I punched it in the snout. My second hit, I got it straight in the eye and then it let go,” he added.
The young man managed to swim back to the dock with a huge bite wound on his arm. Paramedics say the 18-year-old was lucky the crocodile was unable to drag his body underwater where he would have drowned.
Watch the viral video report here!
“I didn’t know there was a crocs there. I just done it for Sophie,” said De Paauw. “She’s beautiful, caring and kind.”
The British national made her thoughts very clear on the incident, however; “Nothing’s impressive about that [the incident]. I think, you know, risking your life, there’s nothing funny about that.”
Paterson couldn’t visit her Australian friend in the hospital due to prior engagements.
The good news is that Paterson actually agreed to go out on a date with De Paauw.
Naturally, many netizens shared their varied opinions over De Paauw’s actions. Some called it sweet. Many others called it foolish and dangerous.
What about you dear readers? Would you jump into a river full of crocodiles just to impress your crush?
Tell us what you would do in the comments section! Remember to share this story on Facebook!
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