A South African policeman has captured a crocodile suspected of eating a businessman who had been swept away by floodwater.

In a “highly dangerous and complex” operation, Captain Johan “Pottie” Potgieter was lowered by helicopter into a croc-infested river in the country’s north-east

He told the BBC that because there were other crocodiles, hippos and rocks in the river, it was too dangerous to use a boat or canoe to recover the man’s body.

Potgieter secured the animal, which had been euthanised, with a rope, and both were lifted high in the air. The crocodile was taken to the nearby Kruger National Park.

The BBC reported that human remains and six different types of shoes were found inside the reptile, which was 4.5 metres long and weighed about 500 kilograms. DNA tests are being done to confirm their identity.

The crocodile was airlifted out of its environment. Photo: South African Police

The businessman’s car had become stranded attempting to cross a low bridge in the flooded Komati River last week.

By the time the police got to the scene, it was empty, leading them to suspect he had been swept away by the water.

Drones and helicopters were used in the search mission, which led police to a small island where crocodiles lay in the sun.

They believed one of the reptiles had eaten the man. The crocodile was shot by Potgieter’s colleagues before he was called.

“It turned onto its back and they thought that it was dead. But by the time we went back, it was back onto its right side and it had swum a bit upstream,” he said.

Once Potgieter agreed to do the recovery, there was no turning back.

“When I was hanging there, there was no way for me to communicate with the pilot,” he said.

“Irrespective of whether I changed my mind and decided not to do it, there was no way that that was going to happen.

“I had to stick to the plan and do as we had planned … otherwise things would have gone wrong.”

On Sunday (local time), South Africa’s acting police chief praised Potgieter’s “extraordinary bravery”.

Although Potgieter has been with the South African Police Service for 38 years, he had never done a similar mission.

“This was definitely a first and hopefully it will also be the last time…there’s really no way to prepare,” he said.

He said his family was happy to see him return alive, although they did not know how dangerous the operation was until they saw the video online.