Woman mauled to death by 13ft alligator while partner desperately tried to help
A woman died following a horror alligator attack that left her with a severed arm, despite her boyfriend's frantic efforts to rescue her. Brittany Clark, 31, had been hiking with a friend and her partner in Florida before deciding to take a refreshing dip in the picturesque Econlockhatchee River on Sunday, June 28.
It was then that Brittany was ambushed by the predator, with her brave boyfriend desperately trying to fight off the beast. They were kneeling in 3-foot-deep water when the 13-foot alligator suddenly attacked, at around 1.30pm, and bit her arms, according to Grant Eller, a lieutenant with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Brittany’s boyfriend desperately tried to free her arms from the alligator’s jaws when he also spoke to 911, pleading for help, Eller said.
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Chilling audio obtained by NBC News captures screams and desperate cries for help during the harrowing ordeal.
"Somebody got bit by a gator. Bad. Real bad," a man can be heard saying. "Please, hurry."
"One of them is hanging on by a thread, and the other one's off”, Brittany’s boyfriend can be heard saying.
On the call to the dispatcher, the friend said: "Ok, both her arms, both her arms, both her arms are off, like, basically."
In response, the dispatcher said: "Does she still have her arms attached to her?"
The friend replied: "One of them is, like, very hanging on [by a] thread, and the other was off."
A medical examiner’s report reads: “While they were swimming an alligator grabbed [Brittany] by her arm and began the ‘death roll’.
Brittany’s boyfriend then “grabbed the alligator trying to get it to release her when it took them both underwater”.
The man was able to free one of Brittany’s arms “for a moment” before the animal took a hold of the other one.
Brittany was rushed to a nearby hospital following the attack, but died on her way there, as confirmed by Chad Weber from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Brittany's brother told Fox’s Orlando affiliate that his sister had a passion for the outdoors and adventure. He recalled that the pair often spent time wakeboarding and dirt biking together when they were younger.
"She was an amazing person. She was nice and helpful with anyone that needed any kind of help," he added. Following the attack, wildlife officials captured and euthanised a 13ft gator found near the site where Brittany was attacked and a 12.5ft gator located around half a mile away.