Leah Lendel, 10, was snorkeling off Boca Grande when she was attacked by a shark on Wednesday, leaving her hand severely injured and prompting a swift rescue effort.
Her mother, Nadia Lendel, described the terrifying moments with a Lee County deputy who responded to the scene. Nadia described how Leah suddenly emerged from the water with her hand hanging and blood everywhere.
Bodycam footage also captured medics rushing Leah into an ambulance as Nadia tried to stay calm and shared what happened to her daughter.
"I started screaming to my husband, yelling I needed to get out and grab the babies. Didn't know who to grab. Got the point, it was a shark," Nadia Lendel said, explaining her immediate concern for her other children while worrying about Leah.
Alfonso Tello and his coworkers, who were working nearby, quickly intervened to help.
"We were at lunch and we heard someone screaming, and so that's when we got over, and they were crying and everybody was like in shock," Tello said.
He and his team used a shirt as a tourniquet to stop Leah's bleeding.
"And we see the little girl crying. So when we see that little girl come out from the water with no hand, it was like something out, like, gets me," Tello said.
Leah's family said doctors at Tampa General Hospital were able to reattach her hand, and she is now able to move some of her fingers.
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