Disney CEO Bob Iger calls family of boy killed in deadly alligator attack

A Disney spokesman said that Iger spoke on the phone with the family

Zlata Rodionova
Thursday 16 June 2016 16:14 BST
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Bob Iger, Walt Disney chairman and chief executive, has responded to the tragic alligator attack that claimed the life of young boy at Disney World Florida on Tuesday.

Lane Graves, a two year old boy from Nebraska, was snatched by an alligator as he paddled in view of his family on the shore of the Seven Seas lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

A Disney spokesman said that Iger spoke on the phone with the family.

“As a parent and a grandparent, my heart goes out to the Graves family during this time of devastating loss.

“My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I know everyone at Disney joins me in offering our deepest sympathies,” he later said in an official statement.

Graves had walked inches into the water when an alligator attacked. His father tried to grab him from the animal but was unsuccessful, according to police.

“It’s my understanding the father was there nearby and the child was playing in the water, just a foot or so into the water, and the alligator came up,” Orange County Sheriff, Jerry Demings, told reporters.

Jacquee Wahaler, a Disney spokeswoman, said the resort was devastated by the incident. When asked if Disney was aware of alligators on the property, Ms Wahaler said there were signs that said “no swimming.”

The company will “thoroughly review the situation for the future”, according to a Disney official.

In response to the attacks, Disney closed all beach areas on its resort properties. Four alligators were killed during the search for the missing child.

Officials told reporters that records showed this was the first alligator attack at Disney World in nearly half a century.

Alan Sykes, a professor at Stanford Law School told the Washington Post that the Walt Disney company could be held liable for the incident if there was proof of negligence.

“The hotel owes a duty of care to its customers to take reasonable measures to make the premises safe. A simple ‘no swimming’ sign might be deemed insufficient,” Sykes said.

There are an estimated 1.3 million alligators in the state, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Iger called the family from Shanghai, where he attended the opening of a $5.5 billion Disneyland resort that opened its door after five years of construction.

The park, the largest investment from Disney oversees, is an opportunity for the company capitalise on China’s growing tourism industry.

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