A young girl, only 9 years old, is on the mend at a Tampa hospital after nearly losing her hand in what appeared to be a shark attack on Wednesday, NBC affiliate WBBH reports.
Leah Lendel was snorkeling in the water off a Boca Grande beach with her family at the time of the incident.
Her mother recounted being just a few feet away when the incident occurred. Her daughter had submerged for a snorkel, only to resurface screaming. Her arm was drenched in blood, and her hand was almost entirely detached at the wrist.
They hurried to the shore where a local construction crew quickly assisted. Boca Grande fire authorities stated that the wounds were consistent with a shark bite, although first responders did not spot the shark upon their arrival.
Leah’s father flew with her to Tampa, where she underwent a 6-hour surgery. Her mother said surgeons managed to reattach her hand.
“They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand. Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues. They will be monitoring her here for a week. But thank God she can move her fingers,” Leah’s mother, Nadia Lendel, told WBBH.
WFLA has reached out to local hospitals for an update on the girl’s condition.
