Caleb Adams shark attack victim recalls surviving being bitten multiple times by ocean predator as he swam with his swim team off Del Mar in San Diego, California – who ultimately helped rescue their team mate.
Summer has arrived… A California shark attack victim has recalled having to swim through his own blood after being bitten ‘multiple times’ by an ocean predator off the coast of San Diego earlier this month as he recalled his ‘miraculous survival.’
‘I knew I had been hit by a shark. I tussled with the animal for what was seconds,’ Caleb Adams, 46, told NBC News of the moment he felt ‘a strong hit on the side’ of his body while swimming 100 yards offshore in Del Mar on June 2.
Adams was with 18 other members of an open-water swimming group when the shark attacked.
Survival instincts kicked in
‘The second time I struck the animal, I felt a softer tissue. I am going to speculate that that was inside the shark’s mouth. And I had several cuts on my hand and wrist,’ Adams told NBC News.
Added witness, Jenna Veal: ‘He punched it in the face. He punched it in the nose. I do know he had a gash on his hand from a shark’s tooth.’
Adams was finally able to yell out ‘just two clear words,’ ‘help’ and ‘shark.’
Fortunately for Adams, his swimming partner, Kaven Barrett, heard his cries for help.
‘You know that’s a real scream,’ Barrett told NBC.
‘When I was swimming him in, the blood was just pouring out of his chest,’ he recalled as he assisted his stricken swim partner get back to shore.
On shore, he added, ‘we could really see the traumatic extent of his injuries and it was not pretty.’
Beware of nature
While Adams was taken to an ambulance, a lifeguard held their hand under Adams’ chin and told him not to look down.
Adams was treated at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for bites to his left hand, left arms, and torso, the city of Del Mar said.
The stretch of beach where he was attacked was closed for the day following the attack. Experts said the area has become a nursery for young great white sharks.
Undaunted, Adams returned to the shore two weeks later, which he said was an ’emotional’ experience.
‘I have a beautiful community to lean on and I’m very thankful,’ he told the outlet.
Adams’ near-miss occurred just a few days before three people – including two teenagers – were attacked by sharks off the Florida panhandle.
One of the victims, 15-year-old Lulu Gribbin, lost most of her right leg and her left hand when she was attacked while vacationing with her mom and twin sister.
