A swimmer was dragged underwater and his foot bitten off in a gruesome shark attack on a beach popular with US tourists
A SURFER who was brutally attacked by a shark has described how he survived the ordeal.
Mike Morita, 58, was surfing off the coast of Hawaii when he was bitten by a shark.
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Morita was out near Kewalo Basin on Easter Sunday when he encountered a tiger shark.
Along with the great white shark and the bull shark, tiger sharks are among the most aggressive shark species.
“I was lying on the board and then the shark grabbed my leg. I could just feel his strength and power,” he told Good Morning America.
“The shark pulled me under the water twice. At one point, the tail passed me, and I hooked the shark’s body with my leg and arm. Then when I hit the gills, the shark let go,” he continued.
Friends said the veteran surfer almost lost his leg.
Luckily, other surfers in the water pulled him ashore on another surfboard and tied a tourniquet to his leg.
Medical professionals told Morita that without his friends’ quick thinking, he would likely have “bled out” before he got ashore, he described to Good Morning America.
Crews on jet skis patrolled the water after the attack.
Shark warning signs have also been posted in the area.
Tourists have been urged to stay out of the water until noon Monday.
Lt. Honolulu Ocean Safety’s Dennis Coglietta urged people to “heed” the warnings.
According to Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the incident is believed to be the fourth shark attack in Hawaii this year.
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