‘God, let this shark let go.’ | Shark attack victim shares his story of survival
By Paul Drewes
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Honolulu (KITV) — Sunday’s shark attack survivor shares his harrowing story, after a day of surfing turns into a fight for his life
Mike Morita, is still in the hospital after losing a foot in the attack, but through it all, he never lost faith he would survive.
Surfers were back in the lineup at Kewalos, and reportedly so was a shark Wednesday morning.
Long time surfers say they’ve seen quite a few sharks there over the years.
“I’ve seen a 4 foot black tip shark, 7-8 foot sand bar sharks, whitetip sharks are out here too. There have been hammerheads, but I haven’t seen any stripes… no big tigers – praise god for that! I think if people knew how many sharks were in the water, there would be less people in the water,” said Kewalo surfer Kaiel Nash.
After Wednesday morning’s reported shark sighting, a lifeguard on a jet ski came through to check the lineup, followed by the Honolulu Fire Department sending up a drone to search from the sky.
There was no sign of the shark, as it apparently left the area.
Sunday, things were different as an 8 foot tiger shark didn’t just swim by, instead it bit into Morita’s leg and didn’t let go.
The experienced surfer was pulled underwater, when the shark grabbed his foot with its mouth. That is when Moria started to fight back.
“After punching it didn’t work, it was driving me down. So I hooked the body with my arms and leg, almost like I was hugging it. I reached around to get the eyes and instead I reached the gill. As soon as I touched the gill, it let go,” stated Morita.
Other surfers gathered around him and got him on a long board, then even got into the blood filled water to put a tourniquet on his leg to stop the bleeding. “They are my heroes because you know they didn’t run. They fought their natural instinct to scramble and survive, but they came to me and I am truly grateful for my heroes. You know they came straight to me,” added Morita.
Their efforts saved his life, but he lost his foot in the attack. Now he will undergo another surgery, as doctors close up his leg. Then he will start a long recovery to regain the mobility he once had. But he says his spirits have been lifted by the support he has already received. “I am grateful for friends and family being there for me and my faith in God which pulled me through this,” added Morita.
One day, he hopes to be back in the lineup at Kewalos, surfing again with a prosthetic.
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