Number 11 Crocodile Attack in Cairns In January of 2021, an unnamed man was attacked
by a crocodile at a lake, in Cairns, Australia. The 44-year-old was in the water at a popular Lake
Placid tourist spot. As he was swimming, he felt the massive reptile’s jaws clamp on his head. The
reptile then started chewing on the man’s skull. Amazingly, he was able to pry the jaws open and
free himself. He then had the presence of mind to slowly swim to shore so as to not alert the apex
predator of his continued presence. Bystanders rushed to his aid and called the authorities. He
was taken to Cairns hospital with puncture marks on his skull, jaw and cheekbone. Fortunately,
none of the crocodile’s teeth had penetrated the arteries in the man’s neck, which could’ve caused
him to bleed out. He was expected to make a full recovery and, in spite of his brush with death,
vowed to return for a second dip in the lake. Number 10 Kristen McKellar
On August the 2nd of 2018, Kristen McKellar suffered fatal injuries after she was struck
by a motorboat at Damariscotta Lake, in Maine. The 32-year-old woman was swimming with a friend, at
about 8:45 pm. She was hit by the boat, reportedly driven at imprudent speed by 43-year-old Jonathan
Roberts. He and his passengers immediately helped the victim to shore and called the authorities.
McKellar passed away in a hospital from her injuries, the following day. McKellar’s family was
outraged by the deal that Roberts’ legal defense team was subsequently able to obtain. Since the
chance of securing a manslaughter conviction was considered low, the charge was dropped in exchange
for Roberts pleading guilty to reckless operation of a watercraft. He was given a $400 fine and
sentenced to 100 hours of community service. Number 9 Great Salt Lake Boat Accident
In November of 2012, best friends Logan Hardman and Chad Tohinaka, both aged 25,
died in a boating accident on Utah’s Great Salt Lake. The two men, accompanied by a friend,
were returning from a regular duck hunting trip when the weather suddenly changed. The 12-foot
flat-bottomed boat they were in was unable to withstand the waves. The vessel capsized
and all three men were sent into the frigid, 47-degree water. Their friend, whose name wasn’t
released, survived after swimming half a mile to shore to look for help. Hardman and Tochinaka
tragically succumbed to the raging waters and freezing temperatures. Their lifeless bodies were
recovered from the water later that day. Number 8 Lake Macquarie Shark Attack
In January of 2021, a 68-year-old man was left fighting for his life after being attacked by
a shark at Lake Macquarie, in Yarrawonga Park, New South Wales. A few days prior,
onlookers had spotted a large shark in the water and photographed its fin broaching
the water. It’s unclear if the same shark was responsible for the attack. The unnamed victim
was out for an evening swim when the predatory fish plunged its serrated teeth into his arm,
inflicting severe lacerations. Luckily, it swam away before causing further injuries.
The elderly man, who was bleeding profusely, was helped out of the water by other park visitors.
One woman applied a tourniquet, which first responders claimed might have been instrumental in
saving the victim’s life. He was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in serious but stable condition.
While the species that bit him wasn’t identified, a bull shark was determined as the likely suspect.
Shark attacks at Lake Macquarie are quite rare and only 3 had been recorded since the 1940s.
Number 7 Docho Eshete
In 2018, a pastor in Ethiopia was killed by a crocodile while baptizing his followers at Lake
Abaya, in the Merkeb Tabya district. Docho Eshete was conducting the ceremony and had
finished baptizing one member of his congregation. As he moved on to a second person, a crocodile
lunged from the water and clamped on the pastor’s body. It bit into his legs, hands and back. Local
residents and fishermen used nets and prevented the predator from dragging Eshete into deep water.
Unfortunately, the man had already sustained critical injuries and his life couldn’t be saved.
Number 6 Mathew Wanjiuku In January of 2019, Matthew Wanjiuku was
fishing at Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, which is home to over 2,000 hippos. After he’d gotten in the water,
the man was caught off guard as one of the beasts charged him. He ran on the shore but ended up on
the ground, near a fallen tree that blocked his path and left him trapped with the enormous beast.
Photographer Frederico Genovese, who was visiting from Italy, captured the horrific 10-minute
onslaught that followed. Wanjiuku was powerless as the hippo repeatedly clamped its massive jaws
on his body. His life was saved when onlookers scared away the hippo by banging on a metal sheet.
Wanjiuku was rushed to a hospital where it was determined that, remarkably, he’d only suffered
external injuries. He was expected to fully recover. It hadn’t been the first incident of its
kind to take place at Lake Naivasha. A year prior, fisherman Enock Romano was savaged by a hippo.
His case wasn’t as fortunate as Wanjiuku’s. In the aftermath of the attack, both of Romano’s
legs were amputated below the knee. Number 5 Kurt Surber
In April of 2020, Kurt Surber died in a freak accident near Stockton Lake, Missouri. When
the authorities found the 61-year-old’s body, on the gravel along the lake’s shore,
they suspected that he’d been shot and initially treated the case as homicide.
It was later revealed that Surber’s injuries hadn’t occurred as the result of a gunshot.
The police determined that he’d been struck by his own truck.
It’s believed that the accident had occurred while he was trying to either launch his boat
or retrieve it from the water. After Surber was run over, the truck and trailer sank in
the lake while the boat floated on the surface. Number 4 Brendan McGowan and Kaitlyn Rosensteel
Just weeks after graduating high-school, in June of 2019, two teenagers died at Mammoth Lake Park,
Pennsylvania. Brendan McGowan and Kaitlyn Rosensteel, both 18, were fishing at the
lake when a lightning storm struck. Earlier, the two had been seen sitting near the lake spillway.
Witnesses then described hearing a loud crackling sound and then seeing a bright flash of light.
Moments later, McGowan and Rosensteel were found under a large, splintered tree. Both teenagers
were unresponsive and, after the authorities were called, they were pronounced dead at the scene.
A coroner concluded that their injuries were consistent with a lightning strike.
In the incident’s aftermath many expressed their condolences regarding the passing of
the teenagers, both of whom had been star athletes at their respective high schools.
Number 3 Triple Murder at Florida Lake In July of 2020, three friends were killed
while fishing at a central Florida lake, in what the authorities described as a “brutal massacre”.
30-year-old Damion Tillman along with Brandon Rollins and Keven Springfield, both in their 20s,
were fatally beaten and shot. The men were out at a popular fishing spot in Frostproof,
about 70 miles south of Orlando. According to a sheriff’s report, Tillman had arrived first.
Rollins and Springfield then followed but, once they got to the location, they discovered that
their friend was being attacked. They tried to intervene but were shot and assaulted. At about
10:00 pm, Rollins called his father and reportedly only managed to say “help”. The man rushed to the
fishing spot and found his son, barely conscious. By the time the authorities arrived, all three
victims were dead. After an investigation, 26-year-old Tony Wiggins was arrested, along with
his girlfriend and his brother. During a press conference the sheriff described Wiggins, the
suspected triggerman, as “pure evil in the flesh”. He had 230 felony charges on his record, with the
first occurring when he was just 12 years old. Today's topic was requested by Adam Richardson.
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in the comments section below Number 2 Kevin Rivera-Cornejo
On September the 6th of 2019, Kevin Rivera-Cornejo succumbed to injuries sustained in a horrific
houseboat accident on a California lake. 23-year-old Rivera-Cornejo was on the back
swim deck while his father, Hector, was trying to moor the rented houseboat to shore. It was at that
point that the young man either jumped or fell in the water. As Hector was reversing the boat,
Rivera-Cornejo was struck by the propeller. He sustained devastating cuts to his lower body.
He was pulled from the water and Hector started to administer CPR. The emergency services arrived
on site and placed River-Cornejo on a patrol boat destined for the Silverthorn Resort, where
an ambulance and helicopter were standing by. Unfortunately, in spite of repeated resuscitation
attempts, the victim was pronounced dead. Number 1 Ride the Ducks Boat Accident
On July the 19th of 2018, an amphibious vehicle carrying 31 passengers sank on Table Rock Lake,
near Branson, Missouri. Commonly known as a duck boat, the wheeled amphibious vehicle
was used by the US military during World War II and the Korean War. In the years that followed,
duck boats were in surplus and a veteran in Minnesota started a business giving tours.
The practice spread but, after several incidents, the safety of duck boats came into question.
Criticism was focused on their low freeboard and open interior, which made them vulnerable to rapid
swamping, as well as on the continuous canopy over the passengers’ heads that hindered escape
in case of sinking. It was these elements, coupled with inadequate maintenance and poor
decision-making that contributed to the massive loss of lives on July the 19th. The tour on Table
Rock Lake had proceeded as scheduled, in spite of approaching thunderstorms. About an hour prior,
the National Weather Service had issued a warning. The storm swept through the lake quickly,
with winds in excess of 60 mph that caused 3-foot waves. By the time the first 911 call was issued,
at around 7:09 pm, the duck boat was already sinking. Neither the crew nor the passengers
were wearing life jackets at the time. 17 people died, including 9 members of the same
family who were visiting from Indianapolis. In the tragedy’s aftermath, several lawsuits initiated
by the victims’ families were settled for undisclosed amounts by the tour’s parent company.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather swim in a crocodile-infested lake or get into
a tank with a tiger shark for 30 minutes? Let us know in the comments section below!