A diver who was attacked by a shark in the Bahamas just days before a California woman was killed there on June 26 said that he remembers the moment he came face-to-face with the animal.
Jonathan Hernandez, a Florida resident, said that he was spearfishing off Abaco Island when the situation unfolded.
“I got hit so hard from behind I thought the boat had run me over. I immediately looked to the left side and the shark was right in my face,” he told NBC.
The shark bit Hernandez’s left calf but he survived to tell the tale.
Bahamas shark attack victim shares harrowing story of survival https://t.co/0foxdL39SS
— 3rd Hour of TODAY (@3rdHourTODAY) July 1, 2019
“I was able to get away, kicking away. I looked in the water, and I could see in the water that my calf was hanging and gushing blood into the water,” he said. “It all happened so fast it was kind of a blur of whitewater and fins and thrashing.”
The diver’s companions fashioned a tourniquet for him, which Hernandez credited for saving his life. He said his left calf was “shredded” and that he can’t start physical therapy for another six weeks.
Hernandez said the attacks in the Bahamas stem from businesses that take people to sharks and let the tourists feed them.
“They’re associating humans with getting food, and it’s making it very dangerous to be in the water, whether you’re spearing or you just happen to be snorkeling near where they’re feeding them,” he said.
It wasn’t clear what type of shark attacked Hernandez.
American student, 21, who was killed in a shark attack in the Bahamas was dragged to the shore by her desperate mother https://t.co/McvDFThKG2
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 28, 2019
While Hernandez survived the attack, 21-year-old Jordan Lindsey died after getting attacked by three sharks near Rose Island while snorkeling.
Michael Lindsey, her father, told ABC News that his wife was just a few feet away when the attack unfolded.
“She said it happened so fast, and no one yelled anything. My wife got to Jordan and pulled Jordan to shore by herself. The medical staff said they still had to do an autopsy. My wife said no one told her there were three sharks,” he said.
Lindsey’s right arm was ripped away and the sharks bit her other arm and both legs, among other areas. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but was soon pronounced dead.
A fundraiser on GoFundMe for her family has raised over $70,000. It said that she would be remembered as a sister, daughter, and girlfriend.
Echoing Hernandez, a shark expert said that the attack on Lindsey may have been triggered by something, listing chum being dumped nearby as a possibility.
Dr. Erich Ritter, a shark expert who was probing the fatal attack, told The Associated Press that the behavior of the sharks was not normal and said that the snorkeling company wasn’t monitoring the area properly, wondering why employees were in the boat instead of the water.
“For more than one shark to hone in on a person, that is unusual,” he told The Beach Reporter. “If this truly happened, then there must have been a very strong trigger. If someone is just snorkeling around, that just doesn’t happen. It just does not happen.”
Ritter said pictures of the bite wounds would provide definitive evidence that could be used to find out more about what happened.
“That would give us the answer,” he said. “So far, until we have seen the pictures, we cannot see how many sharks or what kind of species [were involved]. The wound pictures would tell the story.”
