Washington  - An alligator severed an 11-year-old boy's arm, when the animal attacked him in a pond in the southern US state of Louisiana, the Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans reported Thursday.

The 226-kilogramme, 3.3-metre animal bit off Devin Funck's left arm at the shoulder on Wednesday.

"It was a miracle that the boy resurfaced, and it was the miracle of all miracles that the gator did not come back a second time as the boy lay in the water," Sheriff Jack Strain told the newspaper.

Two of the boy's friends witnessed the attack and ran for help.

Police managed to retrieve the arm after killing the animal and doctors were trying to reattach it. It was not yet clear whether the surgery had been successful. (dpa)