[Animals] Man survives shark attack after other surfers rush to his aid in Northern California

[AMAL]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-survives-shark-attack-after-other-surfers-rush-his-aid-n1280758

A surfer is “fortunate” to have survived a shark bite over the weekend about 70 miles north of San Francisco, an emergency responder said Monday. The surfer, who has not been publicly identified other than that he is in his 30s, was bitten in the thigh about 9 a.m. Sunday near the Sonoma Coast north of Bodega Bay, said Bodega Bay Fire Protection Division Capt. David Bynum. The surfer's condition was unknown Monday. He was conscious when he was airlifted and is expected to survive, Bynum said. The man was first helped to shore by surfers who applied a tourniquet to his thigh with surfboard leashes, which another bystander later replaced with a manufactured tourniquet, Bynum said. First responders arrived within minutes and continued to treat the surfer, who was airlifted to a hospital by the California Highway Patrol, Bynum said. “The tourniquet was crucial. That’s what made the difference between a life-threatening injury and a stable patient,” he said. “He’s fortunate. He had a lot of help right from the start.”