Alligator bites off a man’s arm near the Banditos bar in Port Charlotte, Florida, revealing chilling details of escaping a 10-foot beast

A MAN has lost his arm after being attacked by a 10-foot alligator behind a bar in Florida this weekend.

The beast attacked the 23-year-old victim early Sunday near the Banditos bar in Port Charlotte, wildlife officials said.

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Witness Manny Hidalgo was in the bar when he heard screams coming from a pond outside, prompting him to investigate.

“He screamed and swam to shore,” Hidalgo said The daily sun while describing how he braved the alligator-infested waters to save the victim from the 10-foot-tall beast.

“I ran and dragged him into the sand. I was afraid to go near the water because it was dark outside.”

Hidalgo said he was still in shock from the encounter and admitted he was scared as he entered the water.

“He was a pretty big guy. I’m not sure how I did that. I guess my adrenaline surged,” said Hidalgo.

“I don’t know if it was a mother alligator trying to save her cub or a father alligator trying to support his family… but the guy was very lucky.”

The victim was flown to Gulf Coast Hospital in a helicopter, but his arm could not be saved and was eventually amputated, said Todd Dunn, a spokesman for Charlotte County Fire and EMS.

Mark Christenson has lived in the area for years and said it’s no secret alligators lurk in the water near the bar.

“We saw alligators here and hear them croaking,” he said WINK news.

“There’s a lot of cattails and reeds that fell down back there. And that means alligators. So there’s been a big boy here for a while.”

Ron Williams told the outlet that he was at the Banditos bar around 1:45 a.m., just before the bar closed.

“We heard screams. I happened to walk onto the porch around the same time and a group of people came running in a panic,” he said.

“You can see it on their faces, and they were like, ‘Someone bit off your arm.’

“And we’re trying to figure out what we can do to help, but apparently they’ve already pulled him out of the water and called for help.”

“And they showed up pretty quickly and got him out. Took him somewhere and medicated him.”

A trapper caught a 10.5-foot alligator and took it off the property, wildlife officials said.

“SNAP’s goal is to proactively address alligator threats in developed areas while protecting alligators in areas where they occur naturally,” said Hailee Seely, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in a press release.

“SNAP employs statewide commissioned alligator trappers to capture alligators that are believed to pose a threat to people, pets, or property.”

Further details on the victim’s condition and injuries were not immediately available and his identity was not released.