SANIBEL, Fla. (WSVN) — Rescue teams saved a man’s life after a harrowing alligator attack in Sanibel.
A photo of the aftermath of the attack is so graphic we had to blur it, but with a closer look, you can see the reason the man in this photo is still alive. It’s the orange cord wrapped around his arm.
“I can say that gentleman was sitting there with a temporary tourniquet, which is one of the things that saved his life from hemorrhaging,” said Dr. Benjamin Abo.
Crews said the victim was washing is hands in a pond.
“The gator reached up and grabbed his arm,” Abo said.
They rushed to the scene to help the wounded man.
“And myself, along with the fire department, were just a couple of minutes away, and we’re there pretty quickly to put on a commercial grade tourniquet and south of bleeding and do our assessment and provide emergency medical care for him,” Abo said.
Experts trapped the cold blooded animal with meat and lassoed it.
Then, they dragged it in on shore and away from the water to be euthanized. Despite the frightening encounter, that man is expected to recover.
“Despite a pretty gnarly bite, he’s going to be OK, and his arm is going to be saved,” Abo said.
The man is taking antibiotics and needs to clean his wounds thoroughly and often.
Besides that, doctors said, he’s going to be just fine.
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