Shark attacks North Carolina teen on family beach day, leaves him with 40 bite wounds and 17 stitches
OAK RIDGE, NORTH CAROLINA: A 16-year-old boy from Oak Ridge was attacked by a shark and left with 17 stitches and around 40 bite wounds. The incident took place last Thursday, June 18, when Nick Arthur was enjoying a beach day with his family at Cape Hatteras.
According to reports, the attack occurred around 25 feet offshore while Nick was jumping over waves on a sandbar around 4 pm. “I didn’t know what it was, so I tried lifting my leg up out of the water, and I saw, ‘Oh, my God, there’s a 5-foot long shark attached to my leg’. My hands were bleeding. There was just lots of blood and sand all mixed together. I couldn’t really see what was going on,” the teen told Fox affiliate WGHP.
Nick was in the water with his sister and father, Tim Arthur, when he suddenly started screaming. His father initially thought that the teenager was “was screaming out of joy", and then saw the shark that had its teeth around Nick's thigh and was not letting go. “He was screaming, ‘Get it off me! Let me go!’ And I jumped into action,” Arthur told CNN.
While Nick tried to pry open the animal’s mouth to free his leg, his father continuously punched and kicked the shark, eventually hitting it hard enough in the nose for it to let go of the teenager's leg. “I don’t think we did anything special, but it was enough to make him maybe realize there was easier prey out there,” Tim said as reported by PEOPLE.
After the attack, Nick was rushed to a medical facility in Nags Head, where he received treatment. He was released later that same night, the National Park Service said. The teen reportedly received 17 stitches and was left with around 40 shark bite wounds. “Even though it’s a small possibility, it’s still a possibility. I thought, ‘There’s no way it’s gonna happen.’ No one thinks it’s gonna happen to them until it happens to them,” Nick said.
Speaking to CNN, Nick’s father said that his son was in good spirits after the incident, and fortunately there seemed to be no permanent damage due to the attack. Tim also said that the incident has not stopped the family to enjoy a beach day or swimming at the beach, but added that they probably won't go out as far in the water in the future. “You always think it's not going to be you," he said.
In a similar incident, a French backpacker had a close encounter with a shark at a popular Australian beach on the afternoon of May 8 when the 23-year-old was surfing. Dylan Nacass had to repeatedly punch the animal in the face to let it go off him. He luckily survived with some minor injuries after the shark attacked his leg at Bell's Beach in Torquay, Victoria. The incident was reportedly captured on a camera.
Nacass was reportedly helped by another local surfer called Matthew Sedunary, who initially thought the Frenchman was joking. "He started screaming. I honestly thought he was joking around with his friends. Then I saw the fin," Sedunary added.