Florida woman loses arm in Silver River alligator attack as boater races to save her life
A Florida woman lost her arm in a terrifying alligator attack Saturday, but a quick-thinking boater who happened to be nearby may have saved her life.The woman was among a group of swimmers on the Silver River near Ocala when she spotted an alligator approaching and tried to fend it off with a paddle. Instead, the gator grabbed her right arm and dragged her underwater.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICKNearby, John Gamache was eating lunch on his boat with his father when he heard the commotion."I looked just upriver from us a couple hundred feet and saw an alligator head way above the water and going full speed towards the swimmers," Gamache told FOX 35 Orlando.Gamache immediately raced his boat toward the group, and the approaching vessel apparently scared the alligator away.TOM RAHILL CAPTURES 96 BURMESE PYTHONS IN 10 DAYS TO WIN 2026 FLORIDA PYTHON CHALLENGEWhat he found when he reached the woman was gruesome."It was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere.
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A Florida woman lost her arm in a terrifying alligator attack Saturday, but a quick-thinking boater who happened to be nearby may have saved her life.The woman was among a group of swimmers on the Silver River near Ocala when she spotted an alligator approaching and tried to fend it off with a paddle. Instead, the gator grabbed her right arm and dragged her underwater.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICKNearby, John Gamache was eating lunch on his boat with his father when he heard the commotion."I looked just upriver from us a couple hundred feet and saw an alligator head way above the water and going full speed towards the swimmers," Gamache told FOX 35 Orlando.Gamache immediately raced his boat toward the group, and the approaching vessel apparently scared the alligator away.TOM RAHILL CAPTURES 96 BURMESE PYTHONS IN 10 DAYS TO WIN 2026 FLORIDA PYTHON CHALLENGEWhat he found when he reached the woman was gruesome."It was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere. Obviously, the minutes mattered," he said.With the woman losing blood, Gamache used rope from his boat to tie off her injured arm while his father helped get the other swimmers, including children, out of the water and onto the boat.The pair then rushed the group back toward a nearby boat launch, where first responders were waiting.The woman's family told FOX 35 on Sunday that she survived the attack, had been released from the hospital and was recovering at home. She lost her right arm.Gamache, who said he has visited the Silver Springs area for decades without ever witnessing an alligator attack, later spoke with the woman's family."They called earlier, and we talked for a while, and it was heartwarming to hear them explain their emotions," he said.
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- A Florida woman lost her arm in a terrifying alligator attack Saturday, but a quick-thinking boater who happened to be nearby may have saved her life.The woman was among a group of swimmers on the Silver River near Ocala when she spotted an alligator approaching and tried to fend it off with a paddle. Instead, the gator grabbed her right arm and dragged her underwater.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICKNearby, John Gamache was eating lunch on his boat with his father when he heard the commotion."I looked just upriver from us a couple hundred feet and saw an alligator head way above the water and going full speed towards the swimmers," Gamache told FOX 35 Orlando.Gamache immediately raced his boat toward the group, and the approaching vessel apparently scared the alligator away.TOM RAHILL CAPTURES 96 BURMESE PYTHONS IN 10 DAYS TO WIN 2026 FLORIDA PYTHON CHALLENGEWhat he found when he reached the woman was gruesome."It was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere.
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- just now ago.
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Florida woman loses arm in Silver River alligator attack as boater races to save her life
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