Snatched from the jaws of death! A six-year-old boy in the US has miraculously survived a ferocious attack by an eight-foot alligator after his father got into a daring fistfight with the deadly reptile.
Joey and his father Joseph Welch had gone for canoeing in Boynton Beach, Florida, on Friday afternoon when for a slight moment, Joey wandered and stumbled in to the water's edge.
Joey was left with survival scars from the grip of the alligator's jaw, WSVN TV reported.
"I immediately heard scream coming out of him so I raced down the hill and I could see that an alligator had latched on to his right arm," Joey's father Joseph said of the horrific incident.
"So I ran in to the water," he said adding, "it was about waist deep. I had my son like this here, because I didn't want to play tug-of-war with the alligator and get his arm ripped off. So while I'm doing that I started punching the alligator on top of the head as hard as I could."
Joey was still stuck and a good samaritan rushed over to help, he said.
"Kicked the alligator in the stomach, in the mid section while I was punching him. Fortunately, the alleger did eventually release and I was able to my son out of the water," Joseph said.
Joey was then rushed to a nearby hospital. Remarkably, with only minor injuries.
Like any 6-year-old would, Joey said he's glad his dad was there to help him out.
Joey's mom said she believes there was an angel watching over her son during the death-defying scare.
"Why he doesn't have puncture marks. Its a miracle," she said.
Joseph Welch said Fish and Wildlife officials captured the alligator Friday night.
