Amelie Osborn-Smith says her brain went into “overdrive” as she fought off the reptile in Zambia.
Image source, Amelie Osborn-Smith
A teenager who was badly injured when a crocodile clamped on to her leg and tried to drag her under the water has said her brain went into “overdrive”.
Amelie Osborn-Smith, 18, from Andover, Hampshire, was whitewater rafting on the Zambezi river in Zambia when the animal attacked on Tuesday.
The teenager is stable but suffering “frequent flashbacks and nightmares”, her family said in a statement.
She is being repatriated to the trauma unit of a London teaching hospital.
The cost of her flight back to the UK and medical treatment is being met by her insurance, her family added.
Her father Brent Osborn-Smith previously said his daughter, along with her friends, managed to fight off the crocodile after it “attempted to drag her down into a characteristic death roll, in order to subdue its prey”.
He said her lower leg was badly mauled, her hip dislocated and her right foot badly injured.
In a video released by the hospital treating her in Zambia, Ms Osborn-Smith described her ordeal, saying: “You don’t really think in that situation.
“People say that you see your life flash before your eyes, but you don’t, you just think: ‘How do I get out of this situation?’
“Your brain just goes into overdrive. I was just very, very lucky.”
Image source, Silverback Films
She added that the incident would not deter her from returning to Zambia in the future.
“I can see now that your life can be over so quickly,” she said.
“It sounds cliched, but if you’re going to live thinking you’re going to regret everything, you’re never going to have a fulfilled life.
“I think, just do it all while you can and don’t let one incident hold you back.”
Bundu Rafting, the company that organised the rafting trip, said in a statement: “What happened to Ms Osborn-Smith is an unfortunate accident – the first of its kind to occur with Bundu Rafting.
“Ms Osborn-Smith’s well-being and speedy recovery is our top priority, and will remain so until she is discharged from hospital.”
Her father previously praised the “quick thinking and intervention of all those on board”.
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