Bodycam video shows rescue of shark attack survivor off Florida Keys – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

NEAR KEY WEST, Fla. (WSVN) – Body camera footage has been released showing first responders rushing to the aid of a man after he was attacked by a shark off the Florida Keys.

Jose Abreu was spearfishing with friends and his children off the coast of Key West on Monday when a bull shark swam toward him and left him bleeding.

The video shows paramedics from the Monroe County Fire Department lifting Abreu into their patrol boat to get him to safety.

A man on the boat with Abreu explained to officials what had happened.

“The shark got him right here, right here, right here,” the man said, signaling to officers where Abreu was bitten. “The shark is big, maybe 8 feet, 6 feet.”

“Did you see something or something?” the officer said.

“A bull shark,” said the man.

7News spoke with Abreu on Tuesday, where he reflected on the moment of the attack.

“He’s too fast, he’s too fast. All I’m saying is this is the end for me,” Abreu said.

He said that being afraid was not good for him.

“You have no time, you have no time to do nothing,” he said.

Abreu’s children watched from the boat as their father was attacked by the shark and were worried about him.

The bodycam footage shows the officers talking to the children.

Abreu said he calmed her nerves.

“My kids said, ‘Hey, dad, don’t die, don’t die,'” Abreu said. “I said, ‘Hey, don’t worry, this is small, this is nothing, this is small.'”

The video shows officers calming the children and family as they load Abreu into an ambulance.

“Nothing will happen to him, everything will be fine,” said a paramedic.

“I’ll take good care of him, okay?” another paramedic told the children.

“You will take care of him, okay?” a woman holding the children in her arms told them.

Abreu said he is alive today thanks to the quick response of his friend and first responders.

He said his friend protected him by jumping into the water and stabbing the shark with his harpoon, then quickly bringing Abreu to shore after the attack.

“I’m here because of my friend,” Abreu said. “He saved my life. When you fish alone, you don’t have a chance, you don’t get a chance for free.”

According to official figures, the probability of being bitten by a shark is 1 in 11.5 million.

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