Woman, 31, dies after 13ft alligator rips off her arm in front of horrified boyfriend

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: The woman, 31, was hiking with her partner and best friend near Orlando, Florida, in the US on Sunday when they stopped at the Econlockhatchee River

A hiker tragically lost her life after being attacked by an alligator, reportedly between 12ft and 13ft long, which tore off her arm in front of her terrified boyfriend.

The 31-year-old woman was hiking with her partner and best friend near Orlando, Florida, in the US on Sunday (June 28) when they decided to take a break at the Econlockhatchee River.

The group was cooling down in the river’s shallow, three-foot-deep waters when they were startled by the reptile, which clamped its jaws around both of the woman’s arms.

Her boyfriend, in a desperate attempt to free her arms from its vice-like grip, scrambled to call emergency services, but the beast managed to tear off one of her limbs and severely maul the other.

Wildlife official Grant Eller, a lieutenant in Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, stated in a briefing that the group was kneeling in shallow waters at around 1.30pm when the attack occurred.

Mr Eller said the unnamed woman’s boyfriend was “trying to get her arms away from the alligator’s mouth” when he called emergency services.

In the call recording, which was obtained by US publication NBC News, he can be heard screaming and crying while another woman described the horror of the situation.

The woman can be heard informing the dispatcher: “Ok, both her arms, both her arms, both her arms are off, like, basically.”

In response, the dispatcher assures her that help is en route before asking: “Does she still have her arms attached to her?” The woman then details the extent of the damage inflicted by the alligator.

She explains: “One of them is, like, very hanging on [by a] thread, and the other was off.”

When asked by the dispatcher where the other arm had gone, she simply responds: “Gone.”

Further screams captured on the call as the woman’s partner and friend carry her and attempt to flag down their arriving rescuers, reports the Mirror.

Mr Eller stated that the woman, who resided in Orlando, Florida, passed away before she could reach a hospital.

The official refrained from identifying the victim of the attack, stating that authorities were still trying to contact her family, who did not reside in the state.

Seminole County sheriff’s deputies reported they had “harvested” two alligators seen near the scene of the horrific attack with the assistance of a professional trapper.

Both of the reptiles, they said, were enormous, measuring 13 and 12 feet long respectively. The DNA from both has been sent for lab analysis to identify the attacker.

The deadly assault is among multiple incidents that have occurred throughout central Florida within just the past week, with alligators growing particularly aggressive during this period of the year – following the conclusion of their mating season.

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