ORGANISERS of the Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon, which takes place in January, are concerned about competitors' safety after a crocodile more than 2m long was spotted near the finish line at Blue Lagoon in Durban on Tuesday.
ORGANISERS of the Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon, which takes place in January, are concerned about competitors' safety after a crocodile more than 2m long was spotted near the finish line at Blue Lagoon in Durban on Tuesday.
Event spokesperson Ray de Vries said though preparations were on track, they were concerned about the safety of the paddlers.
"The challenge we have at this moment is that there have been a number of sightings of crocodiles in the Umgeni River. The latest sighting by a number of paddlers has been about 800m from Blue Lagoon, which is quite worrying for us," he said.
De Vries said they knew there were crocodiles at pump-house weirs, but they never imagined they would find one so close to the finish line in Durban. The Dusi organisers warned participants about crocodiles on the route several years ago, but they were on the upper Umgeni system below Albert Falls.
"Ezemvelo Wildlife have been notified and we hope that they will lay traps to catch the reptiles on the route," De Vries said.
He appealed to any paddlers who see crocodiles to report them to the organisers at info@dusi.co.za
Dusi organisers worried about crocs in lagoon
ORGANISERS of the Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon, which takes place in January, are concerned about competitors' safety after a crocodile more than 2m long was spotted near the finish line at Blue Lagoon in Durban on Tuesday.
ORGANISERS of the Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon, which takes place in January, are concerned about competitors' safety after a crocodile more than 2m long was spotted near the finish line at Blue Lagoon in Durban on Tuesday.
Event spokesperson Ray de Vries said though preparations were on track, they were concerned about the safety of the paddlers.
"The challenge we have at this moment is that there have been a number of sightings of crocodiles in the Umgeni River. The latest sighting by a number of paddlers has been about 800m from Blue Lagoon, which is quite worrying for us," he said.
De Vries said they knew there were crocodiles at pump-house weirs, but they never imagined they would find one so close to the finish line in Durban. The Dusi organisers warned participants about crocodiles on the route several years ago, but they were on the upper Umgeni system below Albert Falls.
"Ezemvelo Wildlife have been notified and we hope that they will lay traps to catch the reptiles on the route," De Vries said.
He appealed to any paddlers who see crocodiles to report them to the organisers at info@dusi.co.za
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