Baby Has Forearm Amputated After Being Dragged Into Lagoon By Caiman

A baby boy has had his forearm amputated after being dragged away by a caiman.

The baby, aged 20 months, was attacked by the caiman on the banks of the Lagoa Grande lagoon in the municipality of Porangatu in the west-central Brazilian state of Goias on the morning of 23rd June.

At the time, he was under the care of his nanny, who heroically jumped into the lagoon after the caiman bit the baby’s arm and pulled it into the water, where she prized the screaming youngster from the reptile’s jaws.

The arm of the child attacked by a caiman in Porangatu on 23 June 2021 was amputated. (Newsflash)

Paramedics arrived on the scene and took the badly-injured baby to hospital, from where he was transported to a hospital in the Goias state capital of Goiania.

The baby boy underwent surgery to have his right forearm, which was described by medics as “destroyed”, amputated.

The operation went smoothly and, at the time of reporting, the youngster was recovering in intensive care in a serious but stable condition.

Firefighters transporting the child that was attacked by a caiman in the municipality of Porangatu on 23 June 2021. ( @cbmgo/Newsflash)

According to Dr Juliano Ferreira: “He will have a normal life. His elbow joint was preserved so a future prosthesis can be implanted.”

Porangatu town hall released a statement expressing its regret at the incident and advising residents to keep their distance from the caimans that inhabit the municipality’s lagoon.

The municipal tourism and environment department has said it ordered informative plaques to notify tourists of the danger in May. It also advised residents not to approach the lagoon edge or feed the reptiles.

The caiman that attacked a child in Porangatu on 23 June 2021. (Newsflash)

It is not clear which species of caiman attacked the boy, but there are known to be several specimens residing in the waters.