A two-year-old boy was dragged into the water by an alligator near a Disney World hotel in Orlando.

A massive search is in progress for the missing boy who was on holiday with his family.

The boy was dragged into the Seven Seas Lagoon near the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa around 9.20pm on Tuesday.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told a news conference the family of five arrived in Orlando on vacation from Nebraska and were relaxing in a beach area at the edge of a lake on Tuesday when the reptile struck.

Demings said: “There is a sandy beach area and the family was out simply relaxing … and in the water along the lake’s edge at the time the alligator attacked the child.
“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,” Demings said.

“The father at some point struggled to try to get his son and was not successful and then alerted others to try and assist him in the process.”

“At some point I am told the mother may also have entered the water. The parents diligently tried to get the child,” he said adding that the family alerted a nearby lifeguard but they were not able to save the boy.

‘We are not leaving until we recover the child,’ Demings said adding there were more than 50 law enforcement personnel who are actively searching the lake.