An Australian teen almost died after a shark chomped down on his leg — and narrowly missed his femoral artery.
Julian McLennan, 16, was surfing on Christmas Day afternoon when the beast attacked.
“I was sitting out the back, surfing, going over a wave and I just feel someone grab me,” McLennan told 9News. “I look to the right and I see a massive fin coming out of the water and, like, it’s the body of a shark.”
The teen immediately began to paddle toward the shore, not sure if he still had a leg or not.
He said he yelled out to his friend, Alex Tobin, to let him know what happened.
“I’m just freaking out,” he told the local outlet.
The quick-thinking pal hurridly paddled to the shore to grab his shirt to use as a tourniquet.
After getting to safety, the pair called their friend Will Anderson, who was sitting in the parking lot.
“At first, I didn’t believe him,” Anderson told the outlet. “I was thinking, ‘Oh yeah.’ But no, just the panic in his voice set off alarm bells in my head.”
The three piled into the car and took off toward the hospital, too afraid the ambulance would take too long to get to them.
“Not knowing how bad the bite actually was, I just wanted to be on the safer side and get moving as quick as we could,” Anderson said.
They would later find out that McLennan had been bitten inches away from his femoral artery, which could have caused him to bleed out.
The 16-year-old thanked his surfboard for saving his life as it took most of the brunt end of the bite. Terrifying photos show the bite marks on the board by one of the back fins.
“If I didn’t have the fin on the surfboard, it probably would have taken my leg,” he told 9News.
Despite the near-death experience, McLennan said he won’t stay out of the water forever, although he’s taking a break for now.
“I’m still a bit shocked, but you know, we’ll get there,” he said.