Boy, 16, survives a shark attack off the coast of North Carolina after his quick-thinking father repeatedly punched and kicked the five-foot predator
- Nick Arthur, 16, was attacked while swimming in Cape Hatteras on Thursday
- A five-foot shark latched onto his thigh as he desperately fought it off
- The predator finally let go after Nick’s father repeatedly punched it in the nose
- The teen suffered more than 40 lacerations that required 17 stitches
A 16-year-old boy survived a shark attack off the coast of North Carolina after his father rushed in to fight off the predator.
Nick Arthur was swimming about 25 feet from the shore at Cape Hatteras on Thursday when a shark latched on to his thigh.
The boy’s father, Tim Arthur, heard his son screaming as he tried to fight the shark off with his hands and swam over to help.
Tim furiously kicked and punched the shark until it finally released its grip and swam away.
Puncture wounds are seen on Nick Arthur’s leg after a shark latched onto it on Thursday
The attack took place at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina’s Outer Banks (pictured on Friday)
Nick and his father Tim recounted the ordeal in an interview with FOX8 on Friday
The family, who were visiting the Outer Banks from Oak Ridge, recounted the horrifying ordeal in an interview with FOX8 on Friday.
Nick said initially didn’t know what was grabbing his leg as the water clouded with blood and sand.
‘The pressure was so intense, I was like: “This is obviously not – this is an animal of some sort,”‘ he said.
‘I tried lifting my leg up out of the water and I said: “Oh my god it’s a five-foot shark attached to my leg.”‘
Nick suffered several cuts as he worked to pry open the shark’s mouth with his hands before his dad came over.
The shark finally released when Tim repeatedly punched the shark on the nose.
‘I don’t think we did anything special but it was enough that it maybe realized there was easier prey out there,’ Tim said with a laugh.
Nick suffered several cuts as he worked to pry open the shark’s mouth with his hands
After he got out of the water Nick was rushed to the hospital where doctors used 17 stitches to repair the wounds on his leg and hands.
His father said they counted more than 40 teeth marks in total.
Nick hopes his experience will warn other swimmers in the area to stay on the lookout for sharks.
‘Even though it’s a small possibility, it’s still a possibility,’ he said. ‘No one thinks it’s going to happen to them until it happens to them.’
At least three shark attacks were reported in North Carolina last year, which tied for the third-most of any state in the US, according to the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida.