LAKE BUENA VISTA , FLORIDA // Wildlife experts and police in Florida were on Wednesday searching for a 2-year-old boy who was dragged by an alligator into a lagoon at Walt Disney World in front of his family, despite his father’s efforts to wrestle his son away.
The boy was attacked by the reptile about 9.15pm on Tuesday at the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista near Orlando, the Orange County sheriff’s office said.
The family of five from Nebraska was on vacation and wading in a lake when the attack happened, said the sheriff Jerry Demings.
“The father entered the water and tried to grab the child and was not successful,” Mr Demings said.
The mother also tried to rescue the boy and the father suffered hand injuries, he added. The family has not been named.
“We are going to hope for the best in these circumstances but, based on my 35 years of law enforcement experience, we know we have some challenges ahead of us,” Mr Demings said.
The alligator was estimated to be between 1.2 and 2 metres long. Wildlife and marine officials, and more than 50 law enforcement personnel, were drafted into the search which ran through the night.
“We’re putting every effort into locating the child and trapping this alligator,” Florida Fish and Wildlife officer Chad Weber said.
A spokeswoman for Walt Disney World Resort said everyone there was devastated by the tragic accident.
* Reuters and Associated Press
