I felt like I was in ‘Jaws’ when a 6-foot shark attacked

She punched it proper within the “Jaws.”

A Texas girl has made main waves on-line after sharing how she survived a Florida shark assault by reportedly pummeling the predator till it launched her. A series of clips detailing the “Jaws”-dropping incident collectively boast hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok.

“I felt like I was in a ‘Jaws’ movie at that moment,” Heather West, 35, informed Jam Press of the harrowing encounter, which occurred whereas she was swimming with mates within the picturesque waters of Dry Tortugas National Park close to Key West in January 2022. West was reportedly the final one left within the water on the time as the remainder of her occasion already had gone again to shore.

The Montgomery resident described in one of the videos how she was paddling parallel to the seashore when, rapidly, she felt one thing “snatch” her foot.

“I couldn’t comprehend what was going on,” defined West, who initially thought it was “one of the guys” grabbing her foot to try to scare her — though the others had been on the seashore.

"I couldn't comprehend what was going on," Heather West, 35, said of her harrowing ordeal. — “I couldn’t comprehend what was going on,” Heather West, 35, mentioned of her harrowing ordeal.

West described, — “I was so mad that I used him as leverage and sat up in the water, screaming, ‘You motherf–ker!’ while punching down into the water at his face with both fists, and that’s when he decided to let go,” she recalled.

“I remember thinking how strong they were. It felt like my ankle was in a vice grip and it was so strong,” she informed Jam Press of the horrific encounter. “I just sat there waiting for it to let go.”

The actuality of the scenario dawned on her after she “felt a massive jerk” on her leg and “immediately knew it was a shark that was dragging me,” the petrified swimmer mentioned.

At that second, West realized she needed to act quick.

“As it was dragging me through the water, I knew I was on my own and I needed to fight back if I wanted any chance at surviving,” she recalled of the wild incident. “I flipped over on my back, with my leg still facing the opposite direction and started kicking at his face with my good leg.”

West's foot required 18 stitches. — West’s foot required 18 stitches.

Unfortunately, West’s flippers prevented her from getting any propulsion together with her legs, so the exasperated swimmer determined to make use of her fists to fend off the attacker and “give him a good smack in the face,” which finally did the trick, in response to Jam Press.

“I was so mad that I used him as leverage and sat up in the water, screaming, ‘You motherf–ker!’ while punching down into the water at his face with both fists, and that’s when he decided to let go,” she mentioned.

After breaking free, West — who thought she’d misplaced a foot — yelled to her mates for assist whereas concurrently scanning the water for her attacker. That was no imply feat as, by that point, the water had crammed with clouds of blood, obscuring her view.

The attack occurred while West was swimming with friends in the picturesque waters of Dry Tortugas National Park, Key West in January 2022. — The assault occurred whereas West was swimming with mates within the picturesque waters of Dry Tortugas National Park in January 2022.

Thankfully, the shark didn’t return for a second serving to and the brave girl’s mates finally managed to pull her onto the seashore by her arms. One buddy subsequently utilized a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding whereas one other ran to seek out assist.

“At this point, I still thought my foot was gone. I looked down and saw it still attached and started screaming, ‘I can’t believe I won!’” she mentioned of that adrenaline-packed second.

“I knew it was a battle for the foot – and one of us was gonna win, and one of us was gonna lose,” the survivor recalled on TikTok. “And, actually, I didn’t count on that I used to be gonna be the winner of this.

“I was really happy afterward. I just felt so grateful to be alive,” she added.

“I felt like I was in a ‘Jaws’ movie,” mentioned West.

The relieved gal described the shark to locals, who recognized it as a 6-foot lemon shark that reportedly had been attacking birds within the space for a while. Generally thought-about not harmful to people, the species has been answerable for solely 10 unprovoked assaults, all occurring in Florida and the Caribbean, according to the Florida Museum.

West was subsequently placed on a constitution airplane to Lower Keys Medical Center in Stock Island, Florida, the place she obtained 18 stitches, Jam Press reported.

TikTok customers had been left shocked over her unimaginable survival story.

“What a badass getting mad at a shark and punching the hell out of it and winning!” exclaimed one fan. “Sheeshh you’re strong.”

“At least you get to tell people that you fought a shark and won,” mentioned one other.

“I live in fear of this everyday and I live in Arkansas.” quipped one jokester. “I’m glad you’re ok.”

West in the end chalked up her survival to intuition.

“The gut feeling — me listening to that and turning — if I had not turned, most likely it would’ve been my arm or my side,” she said on TikTok. “And surely I would’ve bled out in the amount of time it would’ve taken me to get back to Key West.”