Survivor of shark attack in California remembers ‘brawl’ with animal and cries for help

The man who was bitten multiple times by a shark while swimming near San Diego, California, earlier this month recalled a “scuffle” with the animal that lasted for seconds and then swimming through bloody water to safety.

Caleb Adams, 46, was swimming with 18 members of an open water swimming group in Del Mar, California, on June 2 when he felt “a violent shock in my body.”

“I knew I had been hit by a shark. I wrestled with the animal for only a few seconds,” he told NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz in an exclusive interview that aired on “TODAY” on Tuesday.

“When I hit the animal the second time, I felt softer tissue. I suspect it was in the shark’s mouth. And I had several cuts on my hand and wrist,” he recalled.

Then he shouted “just two clear words” – “help” and “shark”.

His swimming buddy Kevin Barrett heard his cries for help.

“It was a real scream,” Barrett recalled. By the time he reached Adams, the shark had disappeared.

“When I swam him in, blood was pouring out of his chest,” he recalls. When we got to shore, “we could really see the extent of his injuries and it wasn’t pretty.”

A lifeguard placed his hand under Caleb’s chin and told him not to look down while he was taken to an ambulance.

The shark bites occurred about 100 meters offshore from the Beach Safety Center on 17th Street, the city of Del Mar said in a statement.

He was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla with bite wounds to his left hand, left arm and upper body, the city of Del Mar said. Almost the entire stretch of beach was closed after the attack.

Jenna Veal, a member of Adams’ weekly swim group, was right behind him when the incident occurred.

She had previously told NBC’s “TODAY” that she had heard him screaming for help.

“He punched him in the face. He punched him in the nose,” she said. “I know he had a cut on his hand from a shark’s tooth.”

Adams said he felt strong despite the ordeal, even though his arms and torso were now marked by stitches and scars from the attack.

When he returned to the beach with his wife about two weeks after the attack, he said: “It’s emotional to be here, no question.”

“I have a wonderful community to rely on and I am very grateful,” he added.

According to experts, the stretch of beach near Del Mar has become a breeding ground for young great white sharks.

Unprovoked shark attacks are rare: Last year there were only 36 attacks in the United States, including two in California, one of which was fatal, according to the International Shark Attack File of the Florida Museum of Natural History.