Teen loses part of her leg in horrific shark attack on Florida beach

A girl in Florida was attacked by a 9ft shark and saved by a family member who started beating it until it swam away.

Addison Bethea, 17, lost part of her leg in the attack, according to reports.

“She was stabilised and there were multiple doctors trying to attend to her leg,” her father, Shane Bethea, wrote on Facebook. “They had to remove a vein from her left leg to create an artery in the right to try and get blood flow reestablished to her foot and lower leg. The nerve on the back of the thigh was damaged severely. There is an unreal amount of damage to her thigh area. The doctors are unsure at this point as to the condition of the leg and want to take it day by day to see what will have to be done.”

The girl had been looking for scallops close to Keaton Beach in Taylor County, northern Florida, when she was bitten by a shark in five feet deep water on Thursday, according to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.

Coming to the girl’s aid, a family member rushed to her side and started hitting the shark until it swam off. She was airlifted to a hospital in Tallahassee with “serious injuries” according to the sheriff’s office.

The office said in a statement that “swimmers and scallopers are cautioned to be alert, vigilant, and practice shark safety”.

“Some rules to follow are: never swim alone, do not enter the water near fishermen, avoid areas such as sandbars (where sharks like to congregate), do not swim near large schools of fish, and avoid erratic movements while in the water,” the agency added.

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