An alligator attacked a woman in Florida — she fought it with her bare hands and survived

Dina Spahn, 58, was spending time with her family last weekend boating on the Silver River in Marion County, Florida, when she was attacked by a giant alligator. Her son, 38-year-old Zach Garrina, witnessed the harrowing event.

According to Garrina, his mother initially tried to push the reptile away with a stick, but it launched an attack. During the struggle, Spahn attempted to hold the alligator's mouth shut while surfacing for air. In the process, she lost parts of her left fingers before the alligator locked its jaws onto her right arm.

"She just didn't let it happen. It was a crazy situation," Garrina told the New York Post.

As a result of the struggle, Spahn's right arm was amputated below the elbow. She managed to reach the riverbank, where bystanders assisted her, using a rope and the top of her swimsuit as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until rescue services arrived.

Spahn remains hospitalized and may require further surgeries, but her son reports that she is in good spirits. Garrina expressed pride in his mother's resilience, noting that she does not dwell on the loss of her arm but instead describes the event as a "totally crazy story."

Garrina also voiced concerns regarding tourists who get too close to alligators or attempt to feed them. He has called on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to issue more permits for hunting large alligators.

About a day after the incident, trappers caught an alligator measuring approximately 2.95 meters, and the river has since been reopened to the public. This attack follows another incident just weeks prior, in which a woman from California was killed by an alligator in Florida.