23-Year-Old Man Loses an Arm After Being Attacked by Alligator Near Pond Outside Florida Bar

Alligator.Photo: Getty

The man suffered “significant injuries” from the attack, officials said.

The victim was transported to Gulf Coast Hospital in Fort Myers, according toThe Daily Sun.

At the hospital, his arm was amputated, said Todd Dunn, a spokesman for Charlotte County Fire and EMS, according to theAssociated Press. His current condition is unclear.

Charlotte County Fire and EMS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Bar patron Manny Hidalgo told theSunthat he heard the man screaming and raced outside to see what was going on. That’s when he saw the victim “yelling and swimming toward the shoreline.”

“I ran and dragged him up onto the sand,” the Cape Coral man said. “I was scared to get close to the water because it was dark out.”

A nuisance alligator trapper was called to the scene, and removed a 10.5-foot alligator from the property, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. The alligator was then “humanely killed.”

An investigation into the attack is ongoing.

Hidalgo told theSunhe hopes people stay “aware of their surroundings” as alligator mating season continues. “This is Florida and there are predators,” he added.

source: people.com