Florida fisherman bitten by shark, pulled overboard in Everglades
A fisherman was bitten by a shark that pulled him overboard into the murky waters of Florida’s Everglades Friday, seconds after he shrugged off his friend’s warning.
The frightening ordeal— which was caught on camera— unfolded after the man went to rinse his hands in the water as his friend cautioned him of the dangers.
“I wouldn’t put your hands in there,” a person off-camera says.
“Ah, two seconds won’t do anything,” the man replies as he bends over the side of the boat and dips his left hand and then his right hand into the water.
Almost instantly, a shark chomps onto the fisherman’s right hand and drags him head-first into the water as he screams.
The shark releases its grip and the man tries to grab onto the boat with his injured hand, leaving a bloody handprint behind, the footage shows.
“Get him! Get him! Get him!” the friend screams in a panic as another person on board yells, “Oh my God.”
The man was able to get himself back onto the boat with the help of his friends. The injured man has not been identified.
His friend Michael Russo, who caught the attack on camera, said the group sped back to the dock and park rangers came to the victim’s aid.
“He was rushed back to the dock and the Park Rangers were a lifesaver,” Russo wrote, according to the Florida Instagram account. “He was airlifted to the hospital and is in the best care possible.”
The National Park Service said the man was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel, according to Local 10 News.
The extent of the man’s injuries is unclear.
Russo shared the video as a warning to others.
“Today was one of the scariest days on the water I have ever had,” he said. “…After releasing a snook, Nick washed his hands in the water and was immediately bit by a large [lemon] shark.”
Russo said there was no chum or blood in the water, but the shark still attacked.
“The sharks are no joke in the Everglades and the warnings about keeping your hands out of the water are not an exaggeration,” he wrote. “Please take this as a lesson and keep your hands out of the water because this could have been prevented.”
