Florida Fisherman Miraculously Survives After Falling Off Boat And Being Attacked By Shark
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Florida Fisherman Miraculously Survives After Falling Off Boat And Being Attacked By Shark

A Florida fisherman got too close to a shark, barely surviving after falling into shark-infested water. Unfortunately for the fisherman, a shark attacked him, barely missing an artery. The incident happened in the Bahamas.

24-year-old Marlin Wakeman was at the Flying Fish Marina in Long Island. He mistimed his jump moving from the dock to a boat that he was working on. The fisherman admitted that he was always kind of afraid of falling into the water. It turns out that the waters around the marina are known for its sharks. There's usually at least 20 sharks at any given moment. That's due to fishermen dumping fish remains into the water.

Basically, it's a feeding frenzy, and that's the last place you want to fall into. "Me and my buddies were talking about like, man, if you fell in here, like, you are done. You're not even going to have a second to really react," Wakeman told NBC. The fisherman fell on the dock and fell into the waters. The sharks immediately bit into him, biting him twice.

Florida Fisherman Attacked

"When I ended up in the water, I pretty much knew what was going to happen," he recalled. "And when he bit me, I knew what was going on. There wasn't a second of doubt in my mind." Wakeman said he was "really lucky he didn't head shake or hold on for a while."

However, as he tried to surface, another shark bit him on his shoulder, describing it as a punch.

"You really don't feel the teeth going in," he said. Despite the injuries, he managed to get out of the water and onto the boat before he could be bit again. "I had so much adrenaline going through my body that it was like a fight or flight kind of thing," he told the outlet.

From there, he took stock of his injuries. The fisherman said  his leg was "kind of, you know, all mangled." The captain of the boat saved Wakeman's life by tying a tourniquet. From there, he was flown to St. Mary's. The shark had almost punctured the artery in his leg.

"I've been dealing with this a lot, and I've seen some people that have not done as well," Dr. Robert Borrego said, according to NBC News. "From hearing the story, It shocks me that he was able to get out of that water."