Two American tourists are counting themselves lucky to have survived a double shark attack in the Bahamas. Rileigh Decker, 20, and Summer Layman, 24, were swimming in the waters of Bimini Bay, when they encountered what they believe to have been a bull shark.
The incident occurred on Friday, around 6:30 p.m., after the pair had jumped into the waters of the Bahamian resort area for a swim and were just about to return to their boat. “I felt my leg get tugged down, and I immediately knew I was bit by a shark,” Decker told NBC’s The Today Show. In the ensuing chaos of trying to get out of the water to safety, Layman also sustained an attack from the same shark. “I didn’t know in that moment that I had been bit, until they started screaming that my foot was shredded” she told ABC News.
Though Layman’s bite was limited to her foot, Decker’s injuries were more extensive and described by police as “serious,” according to USA Today. The two received treatment at a local clinic, before being were airlifted to a hospital in New Providence, Bahamas. ABC News reports that Decker has undergone two surgeries already, with her family saying she will will need at least one more. Both are expected to make a full recovery.
“We’re just very grateful to still be here with all of our limbs,” said Decker to The Today Show.
