Homeless Florida man attacked by alligator

  • 20/09/2016
(Getty)
(Getty)

A homeless man was lucky to survive an alligator attack when he was swimming in a Florida river on Monday morning (local time).

The man, known as "Ron Jon", suffered several deep punctures along his shoulder where he was bitten, when he swam at Crane Creek in Melbourne, Florida.

He struggled with the alligator in the water and his loud screams were heard by police who were training nearby.

"The officers heard the screaming and found him on the bank of the river with significant gashes on his shoulder," Melbourne Police Commander Dan Lynch told local media. "We found him there on the shore."

The man was lucky police were nearby to treat him quickly and rush him to hospital. They searched for the alligator but it has not been caught.

This year several alligator attacks have been reported in Florida, including an incident in June when an alligator pulled a 2-year-old boy into the water at a Disney resort, killing him. 

Newshub.