A man was attacked and killed by a crocodile on a popular beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, according to reports citing Jalisco State Police.
The victim, a 28-year-old Mexican man, was on Marina Vallarta beach near the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa when he was allegedly attacked and dragged out to sea by the crocodile on Friday around 6:30 p.m. local time, Jalisco State Police said in a statement on Sunday. ABC News and NBC News Los Angeles.
The victim’s body was reportedly recovered Saturday morning approximately 300 meters offshore following an overnight search and rescue operation at sea and on land, ABC News reports.
Global News reached out to the Jalisco State Police and the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa for further comment but has not received a response.
Jamie Yetter, her fiancé Chris Bury and their daughter were staying at the hotel and hanging out by the pool when they heard screams coming from the beach, according to to NBC News.
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“We thought we saw a guy caught in a rip current, so Chris headed into the water and I ran after him,” Yetter told NBC Los Angeles.
Bury told the outlet that he left in a kayak and began paddling toward the man to try to help him.
“There were no paddles. There was really nothing on the beach that could help. We were just struggling, trying to do what we could,” Bury said. “I was in the kayak right when they sank it.”
Yetter told ABC News that the alligator was very large and had the man “by the thigh.”
“He was spinning, and the size of this crocodile, I mean, his head was as long as my torso, his tail thicker than my legs. He was just spinning it, taking it down,” she said. he told ABC7.
“He sank and then at that point he stayed down. So I was on top of him, but the water was so murky you couldn’t even see a foot down,” Bury added.
The attack took place near the same beach where two Colorado men were attacked by a crocodile in 2022. The tourists were injured by the crocodile when one went swimming in the ocean at night and the other went into the water to help him.
The civil defense office in the western state of Jalisco told The Associated Press that the first American suffered bites on his legs, arms, abdomen and chest. The man who entered the water to help suffered an injury to his hand.
The office said both men received first aid at the scene.
—With files from The Associated Press
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