Teenage female almost has her leg bitten off in shark assault in Florida

Ryan King

July 02, 11:47 AM July 02, 11:48 AM

A 17-12 months-previous teenager, who was bitten by a shark at a Florida beach front Thursday, is undergoing a 2nd spherical of surgical procedures Saturday in the hope of saving her leg, according to officers.

Addison Bethea was scalloping when the sharp-toothed underwater carnivore attacked her, biting her various occasions prior to her brother jumped in to fend off the creature, Tallahassee Memorial Health care reported. She underwent unexpected emergency surgery Thursday and is predicted to endure.

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"Addison has a lengthy journey to restoration, but she was in great spirits nowadays, surrounded by her family members in Tallahassee Memorial’s Pediatric Intense Treatment Device. Addison’s spouse and children would like to thank their group in Taylor County and every person who has arrived at out supplying their prayers and aid for the duration of this hard time," Tallahassee Memorial Health care said in a assertion.

The surgical procedure Saturday will enable professional medical industry experts to evaluate the extent of the damage on her leg and contemplate remedy options moving ahead, in accordance to officials.

Her brother Rhett Willingham, who functions as a firefighter, managed to individual her from the shark. He place a tourniquet on her leg to stem the blood reduction and was also assisted by other boaters and locals in the location, per officers. Bethea was then airlifted to the hospital.

She experienced been scalloping close to Grassy Island in h2o that was approximately 5 ft deep. The shark was estimated to be 9 ft extensive.

"Boaters and swimmers are cautioned to be notify, vigilant, and follow shark basic safety," the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office mentioned, WCTV described. "Some policies to abide by are: in no way swim by yourself, do not enter the h2o in close proximity to fishermen, prevent locations these as sandbars (the place sharks like to congregate), do not swim around massive schools of fish, and prevent erratic actions while in the water."

Shark attacks spiked substantially in 2021 with 73 unprovoked occurrences past yr, in contrast to 52 in 2020, researchers at the International Shark Attack File uncovered. About 40% of the world shark attacks noted took place in Florida, which had a whole of 28 shark bites.

Outdoors of Florida, the United States recorded 19 shark bites, and the relaxation of the world recorded 26 scenarios, for each the International Shark Attack File.