BREAKING NEWS: Man is killed by an alligator in Louisiana after warning beasts were lurking in Hurricane Ida flood waters
- Woman in Slidell, Louisiana called police saying husband was attacked by gator
- Animal bit man’s arm off, causing him to die; Victim’s body hasn’t been found
- Public officials warned that alligators could be lurking in flood waters
- Rescue crews are searching for stranded residents after Ida tore through region
A man was reportedly killed in an alligator attack after the animal bit off his arm while swimming in flood waters caused by Hurricane Ida on Monday.
The attack took place in the town of Slidell in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, according to WWL-TV. The victim’s body has not been found.
The man’s wife called police and told investigators that an alligator attacked her husband.
At least 15 people in Slidell were rescued from rooftops on Monday by first responders.
Earlier on Monday, the president of Jefferson Parish warned that alligators could be lurking in flood waters while search and rescue teams go door-to-door in search of survivors.
Jefferson Parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng said: ‘Unfortunately the worst-case scenario seems to have happened.
A man was reportedly killed in an alligator attack after the animal bit off his arm while swimming in flood waters caused by Hurricane Ida on Monday. The image above is a file photo from April
News of the alligator attack was first reported by WWL-TV in Louisiana
A woman called police saying that her husband was the victim of an attack by an alligator on Monday
‘This is an area that has a lot of swampland, alligators, very dangerous conditions.
‘[Search and rescue crews] had to wait for the sun to come up this morning. They had a strategy.’
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the state’s focus after Hurricane Ida continues to be centered on search and rescue, to make sure all the hardest-hit areas are checked multiple times.
‘Saving lives is the number one priority,’ he said.
‘Those search and rescue efforts are going to continue all day, and quite frankly for as long as necessary.’
The governor said the Louisiana National Guard alone rescued 191 people across St. John the Baptist, Jefferson and Orleans parishes by boat, helicopter and high-water vehicle.
Rescue crews in St. John the Baptist Parish reported that 800 people were rescued as internet and communications services began to come back online, though officials said that 18,000 residents in the parish remained without power as of late Monday.
More than 5,000 Guard soldiers are working on the disaster response, and more soldiers are expected from other states within days.
Edwards said the state will soon be transitioning into a ‘grid search’ of the hardest hit areas, going to search every single home on each street to determine if anyone is home and needing assistance.
‘Then, to make sure that we’ve adequately covered the area, we’ll go back and do a secondary search,’ he said.
‘But what we did mostly to date today was try to catch up on the 911 calls. So we were actively partnered with local authorities and going out and doing search and rescue at individual addresses where we know people had called for help.’