Man bitten by bull shark in Keys talks about ordeal
MARATHON - Spearfishing is 20-year-old Kevin Blanco's passion, but his love for the water landed him at Jackson Memorial South after an encounter with a bull shark.
"When he actually got a hold of my leg, I was like, wow, like it happened, I got bit," said Blanco.
Blanco and his friends were deep sea spearfishing near Marathon Thursday afternoon, and while he was 70 feet under water scoping out fish, another creature was scoping him out.
"I just see a big gray figure, of him just there, and I see it every time I close my eyes, it was a bull shark, and it was probably around nine to ten feet, probably around 500 pounds," said Blanco.
Within seconds, Blanco says the shark attacked him, biting him twice on his left leg.
"I don't really remember like the pain, but I remember the pressure and the force that he hit my leg with, it felt like I got hit by like an F-150 and the pressure of just like slowly closing on my leg, everything was going in slow motion," said Blanco.
Blanco's friends immediately switched to survival mode, pulling him to the surface and calling 911.
"I took my belt off of me and my weight belt and I took all the weights off and I tightened on his leg as hard as I possibly could because he was losing a lot of blood fast," said Daniel Maduro, Blanco's friend who rescued him.
Rescue teams arrived quickly, airlifting Blanco to Jackson Memorial South.
Doctors say the bite was just inches away from a major artery.
"I hardly know Danny, who I consider a hero. What he did was miraculous," said Omar Blanco, Kevin's dad.
Omar is a captain with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and knows just how important response is when it comes to emergencies like this.
"Everything that could've gone wrong, went right in this situation," said Omar.
Kevin is expected to be OK, and when we asked him if this experience will prevent him from going fishing again…
"Absolutely not. I'll be back as quick as I can."
Doctors say Kevin will be released in about a week.