A 17-year-old Florida girl survived a shark attack using an unusual defensive tactic. Addison Bethea traveled to Keaton Beach in the northwestern Sunshine State last Thursday to collect scallops in the shallower waters off the coast. While she was looking for the shells, the bull shark attacked her. The shark bit her leg and escape was impossible – instead the teenager tried to box the shark. Together with her brother, the student managed to escape the shark with this tactic.
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Shark attack on teenager: her brother also attacked the shark
Addison’s father told ABC News and Facebook that the shark wounded his daughter’s thigh. Then he started the next attack, but was surprised by Addison’s brother Rhett. He was finally able to drive the sea robbers away with all his might. By this point, Adison had already lost a fair amount of blood. After the siblings joined forces to drive the shark away, they got help from a nearby boatman. He took the siblings to the coast, where Addison, in critical condition, was helicoptered to Tallahassee University Hospital. The 17-year-old was operated on there immediately. After various emergency medical measures, Addison finally woke up the next day – except for the bite wounds on her leg, she survived the attack without far-reaching consequences. As Bild.de however, the teenage girl could be at risk of a partial amputation of her leg.
Father thanks son and unknown boat driver
Addison’s father summed up what happened in a Facebook post: “The shark bit her once and then attacked her again on her right thigh. She tried to stab him in the eye and hit him, but he wouldn’t let go. Thank God she was with her brother who is a paramedic/firefighter and acted quickly to eventually fend off the shark and drag her into a nearby unknown person’s boat (thanks to the unknown person).”
After Addison recovered in the hospital, she described the shark attack from her perspective. Speaking on the show Good Morning America (ABC News), she said: “And the next thing, something was grabbing my leg and I was like, ‘There’s something wrong. And then I looked and I saw a big old shark. Then I remember that I was once at Animal Planet [TV-Sender, Anm. d. Red.] I saw that you’re supposed to hit your nose directly or something like that. Unfortunately, I couldn’t always get to his nose the way he bit me.”
The brother also commented on the Morning Show: “She came back up and I saw the blood and everything and I saw the shark. So I swam over, grabbed her, and then tried to pry her off the shark. And he just followed. So I grabbed her and swam back and kicked him and then yelled for help.”
Sources: Field & Stream, ABC NewsFacebook