Addison Bethea, 17, lost part of her leg in the attack, according to reports. “She was stabilized and multiple doctors were trying to take care of 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 to restore blood flow to her leg and lower leg. The nerve in the back of the thigh was severely damaged. There is an unreal damage to her thigh area. The doctors are not sure at this point about the condition of the leg and want to take it day by day to see what needs to be done.” The girl was searching for scallops near Keaton Beach in Taylor County, north Florida, when she was bitten by a shark at a depth of five meters on Thursday, according to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. Coming to the girl’s aid, a family member rushed to her side and began beating the shark until it swam away. He was airlifted to a hospital in Tallahassee with “serious injuries,” according to the sheriff’s office. The bureau said in a statement that “swimmers and divers are cautioned to be alert, vigilant and practice shark safety.” “Some rules to follow are: never swim alone, don’t enter the water near fishermen, avoid areas like sandbars (where sharks like to congregate), don’t swim near large schools of fish, and avoid erratic movements while in the water. “, the agency added. It has not been reported what kind of shark attacked the girl, but it was described as being about nine feet long. However, the three shark species responsible for the most unprovoked attacks worldwide are the great white, tiger shark and bull shark — all of which can be over nine feet long. In the waters off the east coast, as well as in the Gulf of Mexico, dozens of types of sharks can be found. Sharks can be found on both the east and west coasts of the US. Florida is the state with the highest number of unprovoked shark attacks in the US, reporting nearly 900 attacks since 1837, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum. No other state comes close—Hawaii is second with 182 and California third with 132. The record also shows Florida tops the global list of reported shark bites, with 38 percent of the world’s unprovoked bites in 2021 being reported in the state. Florida has reported an average of 25 incidents each year for the past half decade. The International Shark Attack File shows that the number of attacks appears to be decreasing. While shark attacks remain a potential risk, lighting strikes lead to more fatalities annually.
