Woman in Critical Condition After Everglades Alligator Attack

A Florida woman is in critical condition at a Florida trauma center after an alligator nearly bit off her hand Friday in the Everglades, officials said.

The incident happened at Willard's Fish Camp, west of Fort Lauderdale in Broward County.

"This woman apparently dropped a can into the water," Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said of the unidentified 49-year-old victim from Osceola County. "She was standing on the dock. She dropped a can in the water. And as she reached in to retrieve it, that's when she was bit by the alligator."

Jachles said the alligator, who remained near the dock after biting the woman, was between four and five feet long.

"The hand was still attached though it was a very severe, almost full amputation of the hand," Jachles said, adding that the woman was stabilized after bleeding severely and losing consciousness.

Jachles also said "several of the other people that were there and witnessed this kept her from going into the water when the alligator bit her."

The woman was transported in critical condition via a helicopter to North Broward Medical Center's trauma center in Deerfield Beach, where she underwent surgery.

As of early Saturday morning, her current condition remained unknown.

ABC News' Benjamin Stein contributed to this report.