Shark Bites Florida Man Leaving Him in Critical Condition with 'Severe' Injuries to His Arm

“He had a severe sharkbite to his forearm here, lost a lot of blood. He was bleeding pretty bad," Nassau County Sheriff's Office said

A man is in critical condition after he was bitten by a shark on Florida’s eastern coast, according to officials.

On Friday, June 28, Nassau County Sheriff's Office (NCSO) shared on social media that officers responded to a distress call reporting a shark bite around 11:15 a.m. that day. They added that “a man aboard his vessel had suffered a severe bite to his right arm.”

In a video, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said that the NCSO marine unit had been patrolling around Amelia Island when they received the distress call and “headed” toward the man’s boat. He said they were eventually “flagged down” and boarded the man’s vessel.

The sheriff’s office said deputies found the man — who has not been identified — “with a critical injury.”

Related: Man Hospitalized After 'Rare’ Shark Bite Off Florida Barrier Island

“He had a severe sharkbite to his forearm here, lost a lot of blood,” Leeper shared. “He was bleeding pretty bad.”

He said a deputy “assessed him real quick” before he “applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding” on his arm. The sheriff’s office shared photos from the incident, including a deputy wrapping the tourniquet around the man’s right arm as he rested on the medium-sized boat.

The deputy then “piloted” the man’s boat to the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp, where the Fernandina Beach Fire Rescue had been waiting, according to Leeper.

Related: Kayaker Nearly Loses Leg After Shark Bite in Sydney Harbor: ‘It Was Like the Worst Horror Movie'

“The deputy was a hero when he arrived, to make sure he took care of the situation,” he noted.

The Sherriff's Office said that the man was “immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital” for medical treatment. The man was listed in critical condition, but was “expected to recover,” according to authorities.

No further details of the circumstances that led to the man being bitten were shared by authorities.

Earlier this month, three people were injured in shark attacks around Walton County beaches located on Florida's western shore within 90 minutes of each other, according to CNN. Two people were reported to have been in critical condition while the third was in stable condition.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission warned on its website that shark activity “is at its peak in Florida waters during April through October.” However, it also noted that shark bites are “very rare.”

"Humans are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning in Florida than to be bitten by a shark, Experts agree that the increase in the number of shark bites in recent years is more related to an increase in human visitors than to an increase in shark populations or activity,” the commission's website said.

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