Fifty police and wildlife experts in Florida are searching for a two-year-old boy who was dragged into the water by an alligator. The child was on the shore of the Seven Seas Lagoon by the Disney Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Orlando when he was dragged away late on Tuesday, according to officials.
There is a “no swimming” sign on the man-made lagoon where the boy was taken, but although the boy was on the edge of the water there was no indication he was swimming. The boy’s father entered the water and tried to rescue the child from the alligator’s jaws with no success and received minor lacerations to his arm in the attempt to retrieve his child.
At this time four alligators have been taken from the lake and killed for examination, but no evidence of the boy has been found, police said.
The family with three children from the state of Nebraska were relaxing near the shore of the lagoon when the incident happened at 21:16 local time (01:16 GMT).
The Grand Floridian is a luxury resort owned by Disney and is located near Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park.
A Disney spokeswoman said the company was “devastated” by the incident.
Alligators live across Florida and are a “fundamental part” of its wetlands, swamps, rivers and lakes, state wildlife officials say and to date they say twenty-two people have been killed by alligators in Florida since 1948.
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