Horror at Disney: Gator drags toddler into water

An American family’s Disney vacation turned into a nightmare when an alligator snatched their two-year-old boy at the shore of a resort lake, with the police saying on Wednesday that the toddler is now believed to be dead.

The tragedy at the Disney complex is the latest horror to hit the central Florida vacation town already reeling from Sunday’s massacre at a gay nightclub which killed 49 — the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

Walt Disney World said it has shut down all of its Florida resort beaches and marinas out of precaution after the incident — the first such death in its 45-year history.

“We are dealing with this family now, who, there is no question, will lose a two-year-old child,” Orange County sheriff Jerry Demings told the reporters.

The child was snatched Tuesday night at a lakeside beach at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa inside the Disney complex and has now been in the water for more than 15 hours, he said.

“It certainly is not survivable at this point for him to have been submerged for this period of time. We know that this is a recovery effort at this point,” Mr Demings said, adding that rescuers would continue to search until the body is found.

The gator struck as the child was playing at the water’s edge in the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon outside the Grand Floridian hotel, which is right across the water from the Magic Kingdom.

The father ran into the water and fought the animal but could not rescue his son, officials said.

A search and rescue operation was launched right after the attack. Mr Demings said 50 people have volunteered to help find the body.

The child belonged to a family of five from the Midwestern state of Nebraska that was relaxing on the shore of the man-made lagoon when the alligator emerged and snatched the boy around 9:00 pm on Tuesday.

The Grand Floridian is part of the massive Disney resort complex that includes several theme parks, water parks, hotels and golf courses.

“Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident,” Disney communications executive Jacquee Wahler said earlier in the day.