Miami - (AFP) - An 85-year-old woman was attacked by an alligator in Florida while she was walking her dog on the bank of a lake in a retirement home, US media reported.

A neighbor in the Fort Pierce region of the state located on the southeastern coast of the United States recounted that she saw the victim who came to the rescue of her dog after he was attacked by the two of the three-meter animal, before she was swept away in turn by the water.

The neighbor, who was known only by her first name, Carol, told the local WBBF channel, "I remember that she was trying to get back to the surface of the water and breathe air. And I told her: 'Swim to the treadmill.' She told me: 'I can't, the crocodile is holding me.'"

Carol, 77, notified relief teams and tried to save her friend with a stick, but the victim had "missed the scene".

The Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission reported to local media that the woman died of her injuries, while her dog survived the accident.

The crocodile was caught after it was spotted, especially by a helicopter belonging to the local police chief's office. The animal weighs about 300 kilograms, according to employees of a company specializing in catching crocodiles, in statements reported by the "WBBF" channel.

Alligators are so common in Florida that they sometimes even traverse the streets or take advantage of the sunny weather to move around on the grass on the golf courses.

But according to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, the chance of a Florida person being injured by an alligator attack is only 1 in 3.1 million. In addition, crocodile attacks killed 26 people in the state between 1948 and 2021, according to the latest figures available in this field.

According to Carroll, the unidentified victim was a "shy and sweet" widow.