Family claim 'angels' saved Florida man who lost his arm to a 10-foot gator

The family of a man who had his arm bitten off by a alligator have praised the people who rushed over to save his life as 'angels'.

Jordan Rivera fell into a pond behind the Banditos Bar, Port Charlotte, Florida on Sunday (21 May) morning when he was attacked by the gator.

The 23-year-old said he'd headed over to the pond to take a whizz because the line for the bathroom in the bar was too long to wait for.

However, he fell into the water and after that point told WBBH that he pretty much blacked out for the rest of the experience until he woke up in hospital with his arm missing.

The large reptile, which measured over 10 feet in length, had set upon Rivera after he fell into the water and he only survived because people at the bar rushed over to rescue him from the gator and applied a tourniquet to his arm.

WPLG Local 10

While people were on the scene to rescue him quickly, Rivera did end up losing one of his arms after it was torn off by the gator above the elbow.

He said: "They got my elbow. So, I don’t have an elbow. I can still move my arm around and whatnot.”

"I was like 'whoa'. Because I just woke up and I was just sitting here. And I looked over and I saw my arm the way it was and I was like, 'whoa'. It kind of feels like my arm is just there, but not there."

He also said there had been some rumors that he'd fed the gator but denied that happening as the bar didn't serve food, though it is a problem in the local area.

Some local residents take the scraps of their food and throw them into the water for alligators to eat, which had the resulting effect of some gators to associate people with food.

WBBH

Jordan's mother Teresa said the bar patrons who rushed over to get her son out of the water were 'angels' and was sure they 'saved his life' from the gator.

She said it was a 'miracle' that her son was still alive and praised the people who were able to apply a tourniquet to what remained of his bitten-off arm to avoid him dying of blood loss.

The alligator ended up being euthanised.

Topics: US News, Animals, News

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker