A BRIT was left fighting for her life after a dolphin nearly ripped off her foot in a horror attack on holiday in Bolivia.
Claire Bye, 28, battled two life-threatening infections and needed 32 stitches after she was savaged by the pink river dolphin while swimming in a river in Santa Rosa de Yacuma.
After the vicious mammal sank its teeth into her foot, she screamed for help and onlookers frantically tried to pull her out of the water.
It took an agonising 20 seconds for the dolphin to release its grip, allowing the Brit to climb out of the water to safety.
She was left ''horrified'' as she caught sight of her mauled foot ''pouring with blood'' with the tendons and bones exposed.
Claire said: "I just kept thinking I was going to lose my foot.
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"My skin was flapping around and I could see my bone."
A heroic bystander took off his t-shirt to tie around her foot to stem the bleeding, and Claire was carried to a nearby car and rushed to a local hospital.
"I was in agony and screaming for pain relief," she said.
Once at the hospital – which she described as "more like a farmyard than an actual hospital" – she was given 32 stitches.
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But after four days, her condition suddenly deteriorated as she battled a potentially life-threatening infection.
Medics raced her to La Paz, the capitol of Bolivia, for urgent treatment.
After recovering from the infection, Claire had to wait another two weeks before she could fly home to the UK.
And once back home, surgeons in Bristol operated on her foot and she spent another fortnight recovering.
Claire said: "I've never felt pain like it.
"I remember seeing the dolphin out of the corner of my eye, and then it suddenly lunged at me.
''It wasn't the cute looking dolphins were used to seeing, it had a huge beak with a mouthful of spiky teeth.
"I screamed and screamed, but it just wouldn't let go of me.
"It felt like it had me for 15 minutes, but apparently it was about 20 seconds before it let go and swam away.
"After the attack, I was taken to a tiny local hospital that was nothing like the hospitals we have.
"They did the best they could, but I caught an infection that began to spread up my leg.
"I honestly thought I'd lose my foot, or potentially my life."
Claire set off on the trip of a lifetime in October last year with plans to travel around South America and Central America for seven months.
But on January 3, only three months into her trip, her travels were cut short by the life-changing injuries.
Claire and her friend Louis set off earlier that day on a jungle trek, led by an experienced tour guide and joined by a group of fellow tourists.
The group stopped at the river and spent time swimming and playing with the wild pink river dolphins.
But Claire said the dolphins "started to turn aggressive" after a child tried to pick up one of the creatures.
She decided not to get back into the water and instead played with the dolphins with a water bottle from the safety of the pontoon.
After a few minutes, Claire accidentally dropped the bottle, so she hopped into the shallow water to retrieve it.
Moments later, a dolphin lunged at Claire and bit down on her right foot.
Terrified, Claire tried to climb out of the water, but its firm grip prevented her from breaking free.
The acoustic consultant from Bedminster, Bristol, said she has been left traumatised by the horrific attack – and unable to work.
"It's been really traumatic," she said.
"I've only recently been allowed to put pressure on my foot, and I don't know how badly my mobility will be affected once it heals.
''I personally think my foot looks a bit like a piece of pork wrapped in string at the moment.
"I've seen a psychologist to help deal with the trauma – I used to have daily flashbacks of the attack.
"I used to really love wild swimming and I hope to be able to do it in the future, but I'll never swim with dolphins again.
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"What should have been a beautiful experience changed my life forever, it's incredibly rare for dolphins to attack humans and I never thought it would happen to me."
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