911 call details alligator attack
A 911 call shows the chaotic aftermath of an alligator attack in Polk County, Florida on Monday afternoon. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office via WTVT)
A chaotic Florida 911 call documented a group of kayakers attempting to save the life of a woman who was attacked by an alligator while paddling in a canal near the Polk-Osceola county line.
An unidentified man called 911 Monday afternoon to report that a woman, who was in a group of 30 kayakers, was bitten by an alligator.
Amid shouting, he explained the gator attacked the woman’s elbow and snatched a life jacket from another man in the group.
“She’s going into shock,” the caller said. “She’s in real pain.”
“If there was a ramp, we’d be golden, but no,” he said. “We are in a marshy area, and she is half in the brush. They got her mostly out of the water.”
While emergency crews tried to get to the group, tracking the caller’s phone for the location, the woman’s condition worsened.
“[She is] not well,” he told the operator. “She’s in a lot of pain, but I think she’s still responding. Weak pulse and the pulse is going down. … They’re doing everything they can.”
The alligator also snatched a life jacket from a kayak during the terrifying ordeal. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The alligator and life vest were about a quarter of a mile away from the scene when a helicopter spotted the group and started to circle.
“We’re holding our paddles up,” the caller said.
About 44 minutes after the call was placed, the helicopter landed and rescuers reached the group on an airboat.
The woman was taken to a hospital, but her current condition is unknown, according to a report from FOX 13.
