A crocodile killed Nyirenda in the Luangwa River

A fishing trip turned fatal after elephants forced a Zambian man into crocodile-infested waters near the Luangwa River on Wednesday.

Nyirenda jumped into the stream, fleeing elephants

• Dean Nyirenda, 52, was heading back from fishing with two friends that day.
• The group ran when elephants appeared, and he leaped into a nearby stream.
• A crocodile grabbed his right thigh while he was in the water.
• He fought back by smacking the reptile with a stick he was holding.

Friends pulled him out, but the bleeding killed him

• His two companions watched from far away, then rushed over to help.
• They hauled him away from the riverbank as blood poured from the wound.
• The group tried stopping the bleeding, but he died from his injuries later.
• Wildlife officers found deep bite marks on his thigh that caused fatal blood loss.

Luangwa holds some of Africa's densest croc populations

• The Luangwa River cuts through South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia.
• Conservationists say it has one of the continent's highest Nile crocodile concentrations.
• Police chief Robertson Mweemba confirmed the details of the Wednesday attack.