Finley Downer was bitten on both legs by at least three nurse sharks after entering a lagoon where he saw the sharks swimming among a crowd of people, his father Michael told the Sun. However, the children reportedly did not realize that the sharks were feeding on food scraps when they entered the water. “There was so much blood,” Michael told the paper. “Parts of his leg were hanging off.” As Finley screamed for help, his 12-year-old sister was able to pull him out of the lagoon from his arms, the report said. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment and underwent a three-hour operation. “My son could have been killed,” Michael said. “It was like a scene out of Jaws.” But tour operator Exuma Escapes told the outlet the family went without a guide to a lagoon not used on their tour. Finley and his family returned to their home in Kettering, a town in England. The boy had to use a wheelchair and is expected to have permanent scarring on his legs, the report said. Nurse sharks are slow-moving bottom dwellers that usually do not harm humans, according to National Geographic. However, sharks have been known to bite humans with their powerful jaws filled with thousands of jagged teeth in acts of defense.
