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Man bitten by shark on Florida beach

A man is recovering this morning after he was bitten by a shark at a Florida beach over the weekend. A spokeswoman for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue believe the man wa...
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A man is recovering this morning after he was bitten by a shark at a Florida beach over the weekend.

A spokeswoman for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue believe the man was attacked by a 4- to 5-foot bull shark at Haulover Beach Sunday afternoon.

One beachgoer, who recorded the whole thing on his cell phone, says lifeguards immediately started blowing their whistles to try and get swimmers out of the water once they spotted the shark.  But before they could clear the water, the shark attacked.

“It started getting closer to the people in the sandbar, and they tried to get out,” Donovan Cecil said.  “One guy, it went straight towards him, and bit his leg, pulled him, and gave him a little tug, and I was freaking out.”

The victim was able to get out of the water, and was helped by lifeguards on shore.  One witness snapped a photo of rescue crews treating his wounds on both legs.

“I think he’ll be okay but it could’ve been a lot worse,” Cecil said.

“It’s extremely rare, this is the first shark attack in Miami-Dade county that I’ve been aware of after 20 years in ocean rescue,” Lieutenant Matthew Sparling of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said.

The bull shark eventually disappeared, and the beaches were declared safe and reopened shortly thereafter.

 

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