A woman survived a terrifying alligator attack in Florida’s Silver River after a 9ft 8in alligator tore off her right arm and dragged her underwater, before a boater raced in and saved her.
The adult swimmer was reportedly in the Silver River near Ocala, Florida, USA on Saturday (August 8), when the 9-foot-8-inch alligator suddenly charged at her group in the springs in Marion County.
Witness describes frantic rescue
Witness John Gamache and his dad were eating lunch on their boat nearby when they heard frantic cries for help. "I looked just upriver from us a couple hundred feet and saw an alligator head way above the water and going full speed towards the swimmers," Gamache said.
The woman tried desperately to fight it off, swinging a paddleboard paddle at the onrushing reptile - but it wasn’t enough. The gator clamped onto her right arm and dragged her underwater in a brutal struggle.
Boater's quick action saves victim
Gamache accelerated his boat straight at the scene, and the roar of the engine and the wake helped drive the animal back, Fox 35 Orlando reported. By the time he reached the swimmers, the alligator had released the victim, and the commotion of the boat helped scare the reptile away.
Gamache found a scene of panic, with several swimmers in distress and the injured woman holding onto a paddleboard. The woman was heavily bleeding and her injury was catastrophic, with “bones poking out”, he said.
Emergency response and recovery
A rope from a boat was used to tie off the severe wound, creating a tight tourniquet around her upper arm to slow the bleeding, according to Fox 35 Orlando. The boaters hauled the injured swimmer onboard, along with other terrified swimmers and children, and raced to the nearest public boat launch, where first responders were waiting.
At hospital, the victim underwent a traumatic right-arm amputation - but in a remarkable update she was discharged the very next day, on Sunday (August 9). She is now recovering at home, as per Fox 35 Orlando.
Officials close river, capture gator
Following the attack, Marion County officials temporarily closed the affected section of the Silver River. Trappers contracted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) later tracked down and captured the 9-foot-8-inch “nuisance” alligator. Authorities also reiterated that swimming is technically prohibited along the entirety of the Silver River due to active alligator habitats.
Gamache said the victim’s family later rang to thank him for stepping in. "They called earlier and we talked for a while and it was heartwarming to hear them explain their emotions," Gamache said. "We're glad that it happened as good as it could have. Like the result is just the sustained injury and nothing more."
