Husband comforts wife after she’s bitten by alligator

The emergency call for a US woman who was attacked by an alligator has been released.

"My wife was attacked by an alligator in the backyard," her frantic husband told the operator.

"It was the right leg and her right hand is almost chewed off," he said.

Deborah Cook, 68, was walking her dog on Monday night in South Carolina when the nightmare happened around 10 p.m.

Her husband, Gary, said he was trying to stop the bleeding while his wife was outside on the ground.

"I'm trying to, Debbie, I'm trying to. Hold on," he said as he tried to console his wounded wife. "You'll be alright, Debbie. You've just got a bad bite on your leg."

As the operator asked him more questions, he was having difficulty answering because he was inside their home and did not see the creature.

"Is the leg wound bleeding more than the hand? Or is the hand bleeding more than the leg wound? They're both bad?" the dispatcher asked.

"I'm holding the flesh onto her," he replied.

Animal expert Ron Magill of Zoo Miami offered his advice for avoiding a similar type of attack.

Debbie was treated at the scene and later transported to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia.

Her dog ran away during the attack and was not harmed. The alligator was captured and euthanised.

- This article first appeared on Inside Edition