A surfer in Satellite Beach is recovering after a shark latched on and bit his leg this afternoon near Pelican Beach Park.
- Surfer near Pelican Beach Park bitten by a shark
- 49-year-old surfer suffered leg injuries
- Rip tide concerns led to red flag warning
A 49-year-old man wasn’t too far from shore when county lifeguards and dozens of on-lookers saw the man fall off his board.
“When I first saw him I thought he fell on to a rock or something, but then when I got closer I said, 'Oh my God, this guy was bit by a shark,'" said Dalton Smith. "Then my friends didn’t even know and I tried to wave them in, but they’re like no one more wave."
Smith was out filming a surfing promo for his production company, NPI Production, when he realized his friend was only feet from the shark bite victim.
“Just out of no where a shark hit someone within about 500 feet of him,” Dalton said.
As for his friend Corey Howell, who was surfing just a few hundred feet away, he says he didn’t even notice it happen.
“There is a lot of water moving out there today, so there are some big fish moving out there but I’m just glad I didn’t see any of that,” Corey said.
The man was pulled into shore by lifeguards with non life-threatening injuries.
“The guy was actually relatively calm, we took a couple pictures, they wrapped him up, and then he didn’t even want a transport to the hospital. He drove to the hospital,” Smith said.
Lifeguards did have a red flag warning issued throughout the afternoon for rip tide concerns.