A shark that attacked a beachgoer in Honduras was chased and beaten by vengeful locals.
Dramatic video captured the moment the shark was hooked on a line and beaten with a wooden club after the terrifying encounter earlier in the day.
The incident happened after farmer Roberto Bu, 38, went on a trip with another farmer and his family on Monday to inspect their crops and decided to stop at the beach in Tela, a seaside resort in Atlántida.
Bu and several members of the group were swimming near a dock when he was suddenly attacked. HNC news television reported.
‘I thought he was joking because we were playing on the edge of the beach. Then a wave came in and he started screaming, “Help me, help me,” witness Lizette Arita told the outlet.
Roberto Bu survived a shark attack Monday while swimming at a beach in Tela, Honduras
The locals were able to track down the shark and hit it with a wooden club after the attack
Arita said Bu tried to fight the shark.
‘Then he started hitting it hard and the animal came up. It was a shark. It wasn’t small. It was super big. We saw its black fin,” she said. ‘He started fighting with the animal. Then we started running towards the shore, with my father shouting, ‘Go away, go away, run.’
As Bu was rushed to Tela Hospital, he was reportedly heard telling bystanders, “I fought that shark.”
He underwent emergency surgery for injuries to his back and right thigh, assistant director Dr. Zulmy López from Tela Hospital to HNC.
“He is out of danger at the moment,” López said, adding that it was the first time the hospital treated a patient for a shark attack.
‘He had lost a lot of blood and was given a transfusion. He’s in the recovery room.’
Roberto Bu underwent surgery on his back and thigh after being bitten by the shark
When Bu was rushed to the hospital, he was reportedly heard saying to bystanders, “I fought that shark.”
Roberto Bu is expected to undergo reconstructive surgery on his right thigh due to muscle loss
López added that Bu will most likely be transferred to Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in San Pedro Sula for reconstructive surgery on the right thigh due to muscle loss.
The shark attack is the second since September 17, when 33-year-old Fernando Mendoza was nearly killed in Trujillo, a town in Colón.
Mendoza was fishing for shellfish from a beach in Puerto Castillo when he was ambushed by a shark and bit his left leg.
Mendoza was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery to treat wounds to his leg and knee
Despite two attacks in the space of a month, marine biologist Gabriella Ochoa said El Heraldo newspaper that sharks do not prey on humans as a food source.
“Sharks don’t eat people, we are not part of their diet,” Ochoa said. ‘Sharks feed on fish, mollusks and turtles because they have a varied diet.’