A Florida woman, 31, has died after an alligator bit both her arms while she was wading in shallow river water near Orlando.
She was attacked in the Econlockhatchee River in Little Big Econ State Forest, reports NBC News . Her boyfriend called 911 while trying to pull her away from the gator. But she died before rescue workers could get her to a hospital.
The woman has not been identified because authorities say they are trying to reach her family, who live out Florida.
The victim was hiking with her boyfriend and best friend when they entered the river to cool off. The trio were in about three feet of water when the alligator attacked, biting the victim on both arms, reports Sky News .
In a recording of the 911 call obtained by NBC News, screams and crying can be heard in the background as the emergency dispatcher is told, “OK, both her arms, both her arms, both her arms are off, like, basically.”
The dispatcher says help is on the way and asks, “Does she still have her arms attached to her?”
“One of them is, like, very hanging on [by a] thread, and the other was off,” the female voice on the phone replies.
When the dispatcher asks again where the other arm is, the female on the phone answers, “Gone.”
Then there is more screaming as the two friends carrying the mortally wounded woman try to get the attention of the arriving rescue workers.
Seminole County sheriff’s deputies and a professional alligator trapper have trapped two alligators that were spotted near the scene, reports ABC News . One of them was 13 feet long. The other was 12 feet long. Their DNA has been sent to a state lab to determine which one attacked the woman.
Officials have said drought conditions and territorial behaviour during the end of mating season may have played a role in the rare but severe attack. Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told NBC. Though, this was the third reported alligator attack in the past seven days and the second in the past 24 hours in Central Florida.
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