Sheriff as rescuer

Angler pulled shark onto boat in Florida – bitten

(Bild: kamaeraone)

The third shark attack of the year occurred in the US state of Florida on Friday - a 40-year-old angler was bitten on the arm and was in a critical condition. The victim is likely to have contributed to the attack. The man had pulled the predatory fish onto his boat before it bit. 

The incident occurred shortly before midday off the east coast of Florida. After a group of anglers had caught the shark, it was pulled on board - a mistake with serious consequences. 

The rescue services were informed of the shark attack - the Nassau County Sheriff's marine unit found the man on his boat with a "severe bite to his right arm". He had already lost a lot of blood. 

The shark victim was given a tourniquet - which probably saved his life.(Bild: kamaeraone)

"A deputy quickly boarded the boat and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding," the sheriff's office said, according to CNN. "The deputy then steered the boat to the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp where the Fernandina Beach Fire Department was waiting." The seriously injured man was eventually flown to hospital. His condition was critical - but he is expected to recover quickly, according to the sheriff's office. 

Risk of lightning strike 30 times higher than shark attack
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, shark activity in Florida's waters is highest between April and October. "However, shark bites are still very rare," explains the agency. "In Florida, people are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be bitten by a shark. Experts agree that the increase in shark bites in recent years is due to an increase in human visitors rather than an increase in shark population or activity."

This is already the third shark attack this year. In mid-June, three people were injured in two incidents that occurred just 90 minutes apart. The beaches where the accidents occurred were only about six kilometers apart.