A video has captured the terrifying moment when a shark bit a fisherman and pulled him into the water in Florida's Everglades National Park. The incident happened on Friday when the man leaned over the side of the boat to wash his hands.
A video of the attack shared on social media shows a bull shark leaping out of the water to bite the fisherman's hand. The shark then drags the man off the boat into the water, following which his fellow fishermen rush to pull him back on the boat.
The incident was caught on camera by another man in the boat named Michael who shared the video on Instagram and said it was one of the "scariest days" he ever had.
''After releasing a snook elarjan washed his hands in the water and was immediately bit by a large bull shark. There was no chum or blood in the water and the sharks were unprovoked. The sharks are no joke in the Everglades and the warnings about keeping your hands out of the water are not an exaggeration. Please take this as a lesson and keep your hands out of the water because this could have been prevented,'' he wrote in the caption.
Watch the video here:
After the incident, the man was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center. Park rangers and EMTs who treated the man said his injuries were consistent with a shark bite. However, details on his hand injury or current condition have not been released.
"While shark bites are extremely uncommon in Everglades National Park, we always recommend visitors take caution around park wildlife," the National Park Service said. Tourists are also reminded to watch out for alligators, crocodiles, venomous snakes, and other predators common to the area.
According to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, there were 57 unprovoked shark bites around the world last year. Five resulted in death.
