KAMBALA: A hippo that rarely attacks human beings swallowed a two-year-old boy alive. The hippo swallowed the boy in western Kasese of Uganda on Sunday. The boy identified as Iga Paul was playing outside his home when the hippo grabbed him by the head and swallowed half of his body.

Police credited a witness Chrispas Bagonza with saving the boy after he threw stones at the hippo and scared it, making it release the boy from its mouth. It soon fled into the nearby Lake Edward. This is the first time a hippo strayed out of the lake and attacking a child.

Iba was rushed to a clinic and then to a hospital for further treatment. The boy was discharged after receiving vaccine for rabies.

As many as 500 to 3000 humans die from hippo attacks each year in Africa.