A woman is recovering at home after losing her right arm in an alligator attack on the Silver River on Saturday.
The attack occurred Saturday afternoon while the victim and a group of swimmers were in the springs in Marion County, Florida.
According to the family, the woman attempted to push the alligator away with a paddle, but the alligator grabbed her by the arm and pulled her underwater.
John Gamache and his father were eating lunch on their boat nearby when they heard frantic cries for help.
Because he says the spring water was crystal-clear, Gamache was able to spot the danger immediately.
“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 said.
The noise of the boat scared the alligator away, preventing further injury.
A Good Samaritan boater rushed to the scene, used a rope as a tourniquet to control severe bleeding, and ferried the victim and other swimmers to safety.
Gamache and his father then brought the remaining swimmers and children onto their boat and rushed to the closest boat launch.
“They called earlier and we talked for a while and it was heartwarming to hear them explain their emotions,” Gamache said.
“We’re glad that it happened as good as it could have. Like the result is just the sustained injury and nothing more,” he added.
Gamache, a lifelong visitor to the Silver Springs area, noted that he had never witnessed an alligator attack there before.
In the viral moment that unfolded on Saturday afternoon, the woman was on a paddleboard with friends and family in the Silver River when the 10-foot alligator struck.
The woman tried to push it away with a paddle, but the alligator grabbed her by the arm and pulled her underwater.
She is now recovering at home in good spirits after suffering a traumatic right-arm amputation, with her family crediting a quick-thinking boater with saving her life.
Following the incident, Marion County officials reported that Silver River was temporarily closed while the trapper worked to remove the alligator. As of Aug. 9, the river has now reopened to the public.
Contracted trappers captured and removed a 9-foot-8-inch alligator on Sunday, allowing Marion County officials to reopen the Silver River.