![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/i-was-in-shallow-water-when-9ft-shark-mauled-my-leg-quick-thinking-saved-me/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/newspress-collage-23090334-1689676559245.jpg&description=Exclusive HOLIDAY HORROR Published : 12:34, 18 Jul 2023 Updated : 12:34, 18 Jul 2023 SWIMMING along the surface, teenager Addison Bethea was on the lookout for scallops when she felt something tugging at her leg. Expecting to see her half-brother Rhett, she turned around to look - and came face-to-face with a 9ft bull shark. 9 Addison before the attack Credit: .instagram/addison_bethea 9 Addison had to have her right leg amputated above the knee Credit: BBC Addison, now 18, desperately tried to free herself from the terrifying beast as it tore at her right limb. The high school student was saved by firefighter Rhett, who kicked the shark until it let go - then made a makeshift 4ft tourniquet to save her life. Addison's story features in a new BBC One documentary - Why Sharks Attack - which airs tonight. The pair were diving for scallops last July when the shark struck about a mile-and-a-half off the coast of Keaton Beach near Grassy Island in Taylor County, Florida. The water was just 5ft deep. Addison, of Perry, Florida, recalled: 'I felt something grabbing me. I thought it was Rhett as it pulled me under because I didn't feel any pain or anything. 'But then it started kind of shaking me and that's when I knew it was something else. 'It started biting into my right thigh and I was gouging its eye to get it off me and then it started swimming away with me still in its mouth.' Addison's half-brother Rhett Willingham describes how he punched and kicked the shark until it let go of her. 9 Addison's half-brother Rhett saved her life Credit: Facebook "I heard Addison yell and she surfaced and I immediately could see this tail, just slashing back and forth," he said. 'I grabbed her and started hitting it to get it off.' Rhett, 23, managed to get Addison to their small boat and they were picked up by a larger vessel which spotted they were in distress and took them to Keaton beach. The documentary reveals footage of Addison after their boat landed ashore and shows Rhett s){kind=link}
SWIMMING along the surface, teenager Addison Bethea was on the lookout for scallops when she felt something tugging at her leg.
Expecting to see her half-brother Rhett, she turned around to look – and came face-to-face with a 9ft bull shark.
Addison, now 18, desperately tried to free herself from the terrifying beast as it tore at her right limb.
The high school student was saved by firefighter Rhett, who kicked the shark until it let go – then made a makeshift 4ft tourniquet to save her life.
Addison’s story features in a new BBC One documentary – Why Sharks Attack – which airs tonight.