LOOK: Woman with Shark Attached to Her Forearm Rushed to the Hospital

An unidentified 23-year-old woman from Florida was bitten by a 2-ft long nurse shark while swimming at a beach in the coastal city of Boca Raton. Surprisingly, the small nurse shark was still attached to her right arm when she was rushed to the city’s regional hospital.

“It was barely breathing but it wasn’t letting go of her arm, like it was stuck to her or something,” Shlomo Jacob told SUN-SENTINEL.

PHOTO CREDIT: Indian Express

PHOTO CREDIT: Indian Express

According to one witness, some swimmers were bothering the shark and holding it by the tail prior to the attack. The woman was initially calm and sought the help of a lifeguard stationed at the Red Reef Park Beach.

In the photos that emerged online, a male companion of the victim was seen holding the shark.

As the crowd gathered, the victim became agitated and was given oxygen when the paramedics arrived. A board was placed to support her arm and the shark. She was then placed on a stretcher before she was brought to the hospital.

Nocturnal creatures that are often found lying motionless on the ocean floor during the day, nurse sharks pry on small fish and creatures like squid, lobster and sear urchins. They usually measure less than 9.8 feet long but have been reported to reach up to 14 feet in length.

What are Shark Attacks?

An attack on a human by a shark, shark attacks are relatively rare with over 70 attacks reported annually worldwide. Only three, including tiger, bull and great white, out of more than 480 shark species are responsible for a double-digit deadly, unprovoked human attacks.

The International Shark Attack File has reported 2,778 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks worldwide between 1958 and 2014. Of these attacks, 497 were fatal.

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