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‘I kept thinking I was going to die:’ Large alligator flips kayaks in Alabama lake

DAPHNE, Ala. — Two Alabama women said they were terrorized by a large alligator in a lake, which flipped their kayak.

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According to WKRG, Michelle Hartley and Connie Adams were kayaking in Lake Forest in Daphne on Saturday afternoon when something overturned one of their kayaks. Hartley told the television station she swam to Adams’ kayak and jumped on it. Moments later, Hartley said a large alligator swam beneath the kayak and flipped it, too.

“I don’t even know if I could be afraid because all I could focus on was treading water and staying alive,” Hartley told WKRG. “A moment later I saw what I thought was a stump in the water, and then we were just completely flipped over.”

The women said they were treading water and trying to get back to shore, but their paths were blocked by the alligator, AL.com reported.

“I kept thinking I was going to die out there," Hartley told WKRG. “Somebody tell (my) kids and my husband that I love them. It was crazy.”

A woman who was on a nearby balcony saw what was going on and called 911, the television station reported.

When firefighters arrived, they were able to toss the women a rope and pull them to safety, WKRG reported. Officials estimated the gator was about 14 feet long, the television station reported.