A crocodile attacked and killed a man on a popular beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, according to reports citing Jalisco state police.
The victim, a 28-year-old Mexican man, was at Marina Vallarta Beach near the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa when he was attacked and pulled into the sea by a 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 about 300 meters from shore after an all-night search and rescue operation at sea and on land, ABC News reported.
Global News reached out to Jalisco State Police and Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa for further comment but did not receive a response.
Jamie Yeater, her fiancé, Chris Burry, and her daughter were staying at the hotel and lounging by the pool when they heard screaming coming from the beach, according to the British Daily Mail. For NBC News.
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“We thought we saw a guy stuck in a rip current, so Chris took off into the water and I ran right after him,” Yeater told NBC Los Angeles.
Perry told the outlet he launched into a kayak and began paddling toward the man to try to help him.
“There were no paddles. There was absolutely nothing on the beach to help. We were just scrambling, trying to do whatever we could,” Bury said. “I was in the kayak when it was pulled under.”
Yeater told ABC News that the alligator was very large and was grabbing the man “by the thigh.”
“He was turning around, and the size of this alligator, I mean his head was as long as my torso, and his tail was thicker than my leg. He was turning him around and taking him down.” He told ABC7.
“He went down, and then he stayed at that point. So I was on top of him, but the water was so murky, you couldn’t even see a foot below him,” Puri added.
The attack occurred near the same beach where two Colorado men were attacked by an alligator in 2022. The two tourists were injured by the alligator when one of them 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 was bitten on his legs, arm, abdomen and chest. The man who entered the water to help suffered a cut on his hand.
The office said that the two men received first aid at the scene.
—With files from The Associated Press
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