Woman recalls her terrifying escape after being mauled by shark in one of 'extremely rare' back-to-back attacks
A woman has opened up about surviving an 'extremely rare' shark attack, and says the bite from the animal goes 'all the way to the bone'.
On Thursday (4 July), a series of 'extremely rare' back-to-back shark attacks took place on South Padre Island in Dallas, Texas.
Of the four injured in the series of attacks, Tabatha Sullivent, was left most severely wounded and has since spoken out about the ordeal.
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Footage emerged online of a shark circling an area of the beach on South Padre Island on July 4.
Despite shark attacks being rare in Texas and typically as a result of sharks mistaking people for prey animals, a shark attacked Tabatha while she and her 15-year-old daughter were out past the sandbar.
She told FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth: "I turned around and saw something dark in the water. And I just thought it was a big fish, so I was going to kick it away. That’s when it grabbed me.
"I think it let go of me, and I was able to start swimming to the beach with one leg and my arms and it didn’t grab me again there.
"Then I got closer to the beach, and people started pulling me out and my husband had me first. But he dropped me because the shark was still in a pursuit."
The shark bit off Tabatha's left calf and she says her leg is 'pretty much gone'.
She explained the injury is 'all the way to the bone' however the shark 'did not go through the bone'.
She reflected: "If my husband didn’t jump into action and everyone else on the beach. If I didn’t have people pulling me out - not just to pull me out but jumping between the shark and me - I don’t think it would’ve stopped."
Tabatha's next surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.
Two others were injured alongside Tabatha and her husband, however, their injuries were minor.
South Padre Island fire chief Jim Pigg added: "The shark was located at the south end of the island and was pushed out to deeper water.
"This is a very rare occurrence that happened on the beaches of South Padre. No further sightings or encounters in the last few hours, but we'll maintain vigilance."
Since the attack, the area has been patrolled by drones and helicopters and visitors have been advised to stay out of the water or only go in up to their knees.
Poppy Bilderbeck