A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man from a fishing boat after a shark attacked him off the coast of Louisiana early Friday morning, aerial video shows.
The 64-year-old man was untangling fishing nets from his boat’s propeller just before 12:50 a.m. when he lost his balance and fell into the water, the Coast Guard said in a press release.
The boat was stationed around 35 miles southeast of Grand Isle when the man fell, the release said. As he struggled to get back on the boat, a shark attacked him, severely injuring his leg, according to the release.
The man’s fellow crew members pulled him back onto the boat, radioed for help and applied a tourniquet to his leg, which was partially amputated, the release said.
A Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew arrived at the scene soon after. A video posted to Twitter by U.S. Coast Guard Heartland shows the helicopter crew hoisting the man off of the boat and onto the chopper.
The crew flew the man to University Medical Center New Orleans, where he was listed in critical condition, the release said.
The Coast Guard didn't immediately provide any additional information about the incident.
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