A man who had his arm ripped off by an alligator has described the moments leading up to the horrific attack.
Jordan Rivera fell into a lake behind the Banditos Bar, Port Charlotte, Florida on Sunday (21 May):
The 23-year-old was desperate for a pee but couldn't wait for the bar line as it was too long, so hopped over to a nearby lake for a leak.
However, what should have been a pretty quick visit turned into a bloodbath when he tripped and fell into the water.
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After landing in the lake, he was viscously attacked by a powerful gator, which sunk its teeth into his arm and tore it off.
The young man only survived because patrons of the bar raced over to rescue him from the clutches of the 10ft creature and applied a tourniquet to his arm.
Recalling the last few seconds before the attack, Rivera told NBC2 that he didn't realize how deep the pond actually was when he went over.
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“I just saw a little lake, so I was tryna go over there and take a little pee,” he told the outlet.
“Something happened where I either tripped or the ground below me kind of just went down — and I ended up in the water.
“And that’s literally the last thing I remember.”
Rivera then woke up in the hospital, understandably 'confused' by the whole situation.
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"I looked over and I saw my arm the way it was — and I was like, ‘Whoa'," he said.
“It was the craziest thing — it was almost like out of a movie.”
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.
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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.
Rivera'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 was euthanised following the attack.
Dominic Smithers