A Florida fisherman nearly lost a leg when a large bull shark attacked him while his two young children watched in horror.
Jose Abreu Hernandez was spearfishing off the coast of Key West with his friend and two sons on Monday afternoon when a giant bull shark attacked Hernandez, biting him multiple times in the chest, back and chin — and nearly severing his left leg.
As Hernandez’s children screamed in terror, Hernandez’s friend bravely leaped into the water and charged the shark, repeatedly hitting it with his spear gun. After about 15 seconds, the shark loosened its grip and swam away, leaving Hernandez critically wounded — and struggling to console his traumatized sons.
“My kids, I say ‘Hey daddy, no die, no die,’” Hernandez told WSVN-TV. “I said ‘Hey don’t worry, this is small, this is nothing, this is small.”
But Hernandez was critically wounded. He was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami. Hernandez was “alert and responsive at the time of the airlift,” the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Hernandez was immediately rushed into surgery, where doctors stemmed the bleeding and gave him hundreds of stitches. They were able to save his leg, although he faces several months of rehabilitation.
“He lost a lot of blood and required surgery and a blood transfusion,” his nephew, Marcos Mendez, wrote on a GoFundMe. “The surgeon said he is lucky to be alive. However, it will be a long road to recovery to walk again and he will be out of work for months.”
Florida is the shark bite capital of the world, according to a report from the state’s Museum of Natural History and Florida University. Last year, 23% of worldwide unprovoked shark attacks happened in the Sunshine State.
Shark activity typically peaks in Florida waters between April and October, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Hernandez tells WSVN that he is in good spirits and wants to return to spearfishing after he recovers from his injuries. He will begin physical therapy later this week.