Woman dies after alligator attack near US golf course

A woman has died after she was attacked by an alligator while walking her dog near a golf course in South Carolina.

The 69-year-old woman, who has not been named, was found dead on Tuesday in the Spanish Wells community of Hilton Head Island, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The woman was found at the edge of a lagoon bordering a golf course.

An alligator appeared to be guarding the woman, interrupting emergency rescue efforts, the sheriff's office said.

The alligator was safely removed and the woman's body was recovered.

Police said an autopsy would be performed.

The dog was found safe, sheriff's office spokeswoman Major Angela Viens said.

This is the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in the past year, sheriff's officials said.

An 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home in August last year.