Alain Brandeleer: From Crocodile Attack to Ocean-Cleanup Advocacy

On 6 September 2012, Belgian diver Alain Brandeleer was diving in Botswana’s Okavango Delta when a sudden cloud of murky water concealed a crocodile that clamped onto his right arm. A fellow diver kept his oxygen tank in his grasp for more than a minute, preventing the animal from pulling him under. Medics arrived hours later, air-lifting him to Johannesburg, where surgeons amputated the arm after determining it could not be saved.

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Born with atrophy of his left hand, Brandeleer relied on his right arm for all underwater pursuits. He sought extreme experiences—such as swimming with great-white sharks without a cage—to test mental limits rather than physical ones. This mindset later shaped his response to the injury, prompting him to refuse a non-surgical alternative that would have left him under anaesthesia.

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After multiple surgeries, infections and intensive physiotherapy, Brandeleer returned to water six months post-attack. He used swimming to rebuild his relationship with his body, completing the 8-mile Strait of Gibraltar crossing in 2015, a Corsica-to-Sardinia swim in 2023, and a 23-kilometre Ibiza-to-Formentera swim in 2025. He endured several infections that required additional procedures before he could train again.

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During later dives in the Red Sea and Mediterranean, Brandeleer witnessed extensive plastic debris, recalling turtles mistaking bags for jellyfish. His son introduced him to The Ocean Cleanup, prompting a 2025 Ibiza-Formentera swim that raised roughly €24,000—enough to intercept an estimated 500,000 plastic bottles. He then launched “Running for the Ocean,” a 20-kilometre race in Brussels that attracted over 250 participants and aims to fund the removal of one million bottles. Both initiatives stress participation and replicability for other cities.

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Surgeons, faced with a high infection risk, first attempted limb-salvage surgery. When the procedure proved untenable, they proceeded with amputation, a decision recorded in the patient’s medical file.

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• “If he had let go for a second, I was dead,” — Alain Brandeleer, diver

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• “He recalls telling the doctor, with a calm that still surprises him today, that if that was the only option, he would rather not wake up from the anaesthesia.” — Alain Brandeleer, to his surgeon

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• “You arrive at a place that looks like paradise, you walk a few meters, and it’s full of plastic,” — Alain Brandeleer, on marine litter

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• “If you see it as an enemy, it always wins,” — Alain Brandeleer, on coping with pain

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Brandeleer’s experience shows how a severe injury can become a catalyst for sustained environmental advocacy. By turning personal recovery into public fundraising, he offers a replicable model where individual endurance supports collective action to remove plastic from the oceans.

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