‘Very bad shark bite’ off Key West sends victim to hospital, Coast Guard says

A person was hospitalized after being bitten by a shark off Key West Sunday evening, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

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The maritime service said in a social media post that a “Good Samaritan” boater rescued the victim. A Coast Guard Station Key West small boat crew escorted the boater ferrying the victim to land, where paramedics took the person to a local hospital, likely Lower Keys Medical Center.

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According to emergency dispatch radio traffic, the incident happened around 5 p.m. A dispatcher told paramedics that there was “a very bad shark bite” and that the victim had an “arterial bleed.”

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This story will be updated as more information becomes available.