Man Loses Arm In Alligator Attack Outside Florida Bar

A 23-year-old man suffered “significant injuries” in an alligator attack near Fort Myers, Fla., early Sunday morning, wildlife officials said. The man lost his arm as a result, according to the Associated Press.

The alligator was 10 1/2 feet long and was later killed. He attacked the man, whose name has not been released, behind Banditos Bar in Port Charlotte, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement to CBS News, and he pointed out that there is a pond next to the bar. Authorities from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and EMS responded to the incident along with the state wildlife agency, after receiving a report that a man had been bitten by an alligator.

The man was airlifted to a Fort Myers hospital, where he underwent surgery to amputate his arm, the AP reported, citing a Charlotte County Fire and EMS spokesman. CBS News reached out to the spokesperson for confirmation, but did not immediately receive a response.

Manny Hidalgo, another patron who was at the Banditos bar when the alligator attack happened, said he heard screams outside and came out of the bar with a flashlight to see what he said was going on. The daily sun, a newspaper based in Port Charlotte. The victim was in the water when Hidalgo found him, he recalled.

“I was screaming and swimming toward shore,” Hidalgo told The Daily Sun in an interview Sunday afternoon. “I ran and dragged him to the sand. I was afraid to go near the water because it was dark.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident. After the attack, the agency dispatched a nuisance alligator handler to the scene, who located the alligator and removed it from the property. The agency said the animal it measured was humanely killed.