'I got lucky': Surfer recounts moment shark started 'pulling me down' in attack at Florida beach
I got lucky: Surfer survives shark attack
Brandon Boncore was bitten by a shark while surfing at New Smyrna Beach earlier this week. The Florida man was rushed to the hospital where he had surgery. He said he was lucky the bite missed most major tendons and arteries, but a tooth had to be removed from his bone.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - A Central Florida man is recounting the moments a shark bit him while he was surfing at New Smyrna Beach earlier this week.
The 22-year-old Oviedo man was surfing near the inlet early Monday morning when he fell off his board riding one of the last waves of the day.
"I got lucky to be honest with you," Brandon Boncore, told Good Day Orlando anchor Amy Kaufeldt during a sit-down interview Thursday morning.
"It was just a normal day, and luckily I got in a couple of hours of surf. And on my last wave, I came in, and unfortunately I landed on something not too nice," Boncore said. "It gave me a little love bite."
While Boncore said he didn't see the shark that bit him, he did notice sharks in the water. He assumes he was attacked by a blacktip.
"I felt something kind of pulling me down," Boncore said. "It hurt for sure, but not as bad as you would think."
Boncore said he paddled back to shore where he was flagged people down for help.
"I would say that it was a miracle that there was another dude that was surfing next to me that was a paramedic, and he came down and helped me out," Boncore said. "So, I got blessed in a lot of ways."
Boncore was rushed to the hospital where he had surgery. Luckily, the bite missed most major tendons and arteries, but a tooth had to be removed from his bone.
The avid surfer is not allowing the shark bite to stop him from going back into the water.
"I'm definitely going back in," Boncore said. "I definitely knew the risks, and unfortunately it was me, but the chances of it happening to someone else is very, very rare," he added.
Two other people were bitten by sharks at the same beach last month, according to Volusia County Beach Safety officials.
What are the odds of being bitten by a shark?
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said it's "extremely unlikely" for a person to be bitten by a shark in Florida waters. If a shark does attack, officials said the injury is typically not life-threatening.
If swimming on an ocean beach or inland waters, the FWC recommends staying in groups, as sharks are likely to bite a solitary individual, swimming in areas tended by lifeguards and avoiding being in the water during darkness or twilight hours when sharks are most active.
Sharks also tend to hunt in areas where there are large schools of bait fish, such as opening to jetties.