A brave paddleboarder has explained how he desperately tried to fend off an alligator as it savagely tore into a swimmer\u2019s arm in a Florida river.<\/p>\n
Mike Head was out on the water with his wife and kids Saturday afternoon when he spotted the reptile heading towards the female victim \u201clike a missile\u201d in the Silver River in Marion County, he told Fox 35.<\/p>\n
By the time he reached the woman, the gator\u2019s jaws were locked on her arm and he used his paddle to fight it off, he revealed.<\/p>\n
Mike Head used his paddle to fight off an alligator as it attacked a swimmer in the Silver River in Marion County, Florida, on Saturday. Fox 35<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t swing because I knew I was going to hit her in the head from my position, so I come around the other side,\u201d Head said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I swing, because I can see it still, and I don\u2019t know if I hit it or not. I just know that it was gone after I hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim was then pulled to the shore with the help of another boater and Head said that when he tied her bleeding wound off with a rope, she turned to him and said, \u201cTie it tight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relatives told Fox 35 the victim is back at home recovering and in good spirits despite having her right arm amputated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t swing because I knew I was going to hit her in the head from my position, so I come around the other side,\u201d Head said. Fox 35<\/p>\n
Good Samaritan Head described how he and his family were having a fun day on the water before two women started yelling \u201cGator!\u201d<\/p>\n
Head admitted he worried that the animal would turn on him and his children as the scene unfolded from around 30 feet away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she dead? Do I dive in, and now I\u2019m going to get ripped apart myself?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things going through my head, trying to figure out what I was doing as I was paddling on this thing towards her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head described how he and his family were having a fun day on the water before two women started yelling \u201cGator!\u201d Fox 35<\/p>\n
Another bystander, John Gamache, was eating lunch on his boat when he heard the cries for help from the woman\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
He sped towards the group, and the noise from the craft helped scare the gator away, Gamache told\u00a0Fox 35<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere. Obviously, the minutes mattered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said it is believed the woman was swimming in the river when the beast attacked.<\/p>\n Trappers contracted by the FWC caught and removed a 9-foot, 8-inch alligator Sunday, allowing for the river to be reopened to the public. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n Trappers contracted by the FWC caught and removed a 9-foot, 8-inch alligator Sunday, allowing for the river to be reopened to the public.<\/p>\n The harrowing incident comes just weeks after a Californian woman was killed by an alligator in a Florida river.<\/p>\n