(CNN) -- A renowned South African whitewater guide and outdoorsman was apparently pulled from his kayak by a crocodile in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is presumed dead, expedition sponsor Eddie Bauer said. Hendrik Coetzee and two American kayakers, Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbulic, were on the Lukuga River when the incident occurred Tuesday, the clothing and outdoor gear company said on its "Born Out There" blog. Stookesberry and Korbulic were able to paddle to safety and were assisted by the International Rescue Committee, the website said. "The mission for the Africa kayak expedition was to run and document the unexplored whitewater of the region, while focusing on the people and clean water crisis in Central Africa," Eddie Bauer said.
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Hendrik Coetzee was leading a team in Congo sponsored by Eddie Bauer
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He apparently was pulled from a kayak by a crocodile on the Lukuga River
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Two kayakers with him were able to paddle to safety, according to sponsor's blog
"As hard, warm drops trashed at our little selves and a pair of goats, we stood precariously on a unknown slope deep in the heart of Africa, for once my mind and heart agreed, I would never live a better day," @placeholder wrote.