MARATHON, FLA. (WSVN) - A man from Miami-Dade County is opening up about his terrifying encounter with a bull shark while spearfishing off the coast of Marathon.
Twenty-year-old Kevin Blanco spoke to 7News from his hospital bed at Jackson South Medical Center on Friday.
“I’ve been in the water a very long time. I’ve never seen a shark act like this,” he said.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Blanco was bitten by the marine predator at around 3 p.m., Thursday.
Blanco relived his life-threatening experience with a bull-shark that left him with gashes and deep cuts to his leg. The bite was only inches from hitting a major artery.
“He actually bit me twice, and it was probably around anywhere, 9 or 10 feet, and about 500 pounds,” Blanco said.
The attack happened while Blanco was diving nearly 70 feet underwater.
He said the shark suddenly appeared and attacked him.
“He came out of nowhere, 20 or 30 mph, and I just see the big gray figure of him just there, and I see it every time I close my eyes, no joke,” Blanco said, “and he let go and swam away, and my number one thing was getting to the surface.”
“I saw the shark open its mouth and bite down on his leg,” said Daniel Maduro, Blanco’s friend.
Maduro said he was swimming feet away and witnessed the bite, and he immediately grabbed Blanco, swam to the surface and used his belt to stop the bleeding.
“And I tightened it on his leg as hard as I possibly could because he was losing a lot of blood fast,” Maduro said.
They then called 911. Accompanied by two others, Blanco was rushed back to shore on a private boat and brought to the Sunset Grille & Raw Bar.
A Trauma Star helicopter landed on the iconic Seven Mile Bridge and was able to transport Blanco to the hospital, where he’s already had two surgeries and is scheduled for a third.
According to doctors, their main focus is keeping his wounds clean.
“Our challenge right now is to stop the infection,” Dr. Antonio Marttos said. “That’s why he’s going to a lot of surgeries to clean the area to be sure there is no infection.”
Omar Blanco, Blanco’s father, is a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue captain. He said he’s used to responding to emergencies and is thankful his son’s rescue went smoothly.
“We know this could’ve gone a million different ways, and we were lucky this time,” Omar said.
As for Blanco, he said this attack won’t stop him from doing what he loves, but admits he’s still shocked that this incident even happened.
“I’ve been in that same situation a lot of times, and they are usually afraid of us. That one was not afraid of us,” he said. “He wanted me. It was a scary event.”
Blanco is expected to be released in a few days or up to a week.
Although shark attacks are uncommon in the Florida Keys, authorities urge everyone to stay vigilant and follow safety protocols when engaging in ocean activities.
Local law enforcement and marine experts are actively investigating the incident to determine the circumstances surrounding the encounter.
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