An Alligator warning sign
(Picture: AP)A 75-year-old man has died after being attacked by an alligator in South Carolina, according to police.
The animal attacked its victim near the edge of a pond near the resort of Myrtle Beach according to a Facebook post from the Horry Country Police Department (HCPD).
It said: “Upon arrival, units determined that an alligator took hold of a neighbor who was near the edge of a retention pond and retreated into the retention pond.”
It said the victim’s body and the alligator were removed from the pond and the creature was killed.
The police have not identified the victim except to say they were “a community member” but Deputy Coroner Michelle McSpadden named them as 75-year-old Michael Burstein from the Myrtle Beach area who drowned during the attack.
The police said: “The HCPD death investigation remains underway.Our hearts go out to the family and community members impacted by this tragic incident.”
South Carolina is home to alligators that live across the state’s coastal marshlands and can grow up to 13ft-long.
The native American alligator was once listed as a federally endangered species but the population has grown so much that locals are allowed to hunt them.
