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Published 17:06 IST, November 8th 2024

English Legend Ian Botham Accidently Falls Into Crocodile-infested Waters, Rescued By A Former Rival

Sir Ian Botham narrowly survives a major scare after he fell into crocodile & shark infested waters during a fishing trip to Australia with a former rival.

Sir Ian Botham | Image: Instagram/@sirianbotham

English Cricket Legend Ian Botham's recent fishing trip almost turned fatal after he fell into the river. The harrowing part is that the water was infested with crocodiles and sharks, and another wrong move could have been devastating for the former cricketer. Botham shed some light on the incident and revealed how his former Australian rival rescued him out of the water before anything fatal could happen.

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Sir Ian Botham Survives Fatal Accident After Falling Into Crocodile Infested River 

Ian Botham, the retired English all-rounder, was on a fishing trip with his former Australia nemesis Merv Hughes when things went south. The incident took place at the river Moyle, which is in Darwin, Northern Australia. Sir Botham was on a fishing trip to catch barramundi fish with Merv Hughes when he fell off a boat and went head first into the water, which was infested with crocodiles and bull sharks. Since crocodiles are a common sight in Australia, and the Moyle river is filled with them, Ian's incident becomes more harrowing.

The former English cricketer's flip-flops got caught in the ropes, and he went down into the water. Fortunately, Hughes and fellow fishermen who tagged along came into action and pulled him out of the water. Sir Ian suffered some severe bruising from the fall.

"My catch of the day was the barra while I was nearly catch of the day for all the crocs and bull sharks… thanks boys for getting me out," the 68-year-old said on the social media platform Instagram while posing with some big-sized fishes.

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Ian Botham went on to narrate the incident to Australia's Herald Sun newspaper, saying that he had a close encounter with crocodiles. He also thanked the people who rescued him out of the water.

"At the end of the day, Crocodile Beefy survived. I was out of the water quicker than I went in it. Quite a few sets of eyes were having a peep at me. Luckily I had no time to think about what was in the water. The guys were brilliant, it was just one of those accidents. It was all very quick and I'm okay now," Botham revealed.

Updated 17:06 IST, November 8th 2024

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