KEY WEST, Fla. – Medics airlifted a spearfisherman to a Miami-area hospital after a shark bite off the coast of Key West, officials said Monday.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the victim, spearfishing on a reef, was trying to get his catch back to his boat when a bull shark bit him twice in the leg at around 3:40 p.m.
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Rescuers brought him by boat to Stock Island, where he was then airlifted by Trauma Star to Jackson South Medical Center.
“The victim reportedly was alert and responsive at the time of the airlift,” MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said in a news release Monday. “His immediate condition was not clear at the time of this release.”
Editor’s note: Local 10 News initially reported that the victim was being taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, but officials said he was being taken to Jackson South Medical Center. The article has been updated accordingly.