A 9-year-old girl is recovering after being bitten by a shark in the waters off Boca Grande, Florida, officials and her family said.
The girl was swimming in the ocean with other family members around noon local time on June 11 when a shark bit her, Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser said in a social media video.
Emergency personnel responded to the scene, and she was airlifted to a local hospital, Blosser said.
“The person was in the water at the time the bite occurred with other family members,” he said. “They were able to get her out of the water and get her up on actually to the road.”
Blosser said the girl is the first swimmer bitten by a shark in the area in two decades. In 2024, there were 14 unprovoked shark bites in Florida, the most of any state, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
“These occurrences are limited, but there always is a potential,” Blosser said. “I don’t think it’s a cause for alarm at this point.”
Girl bitten by shark is ‘fighting hard for her road to recovery’
Family members identified the girl who was bitten by a shark off Boca Grande as 9-year-old Leah Lendel, according to Gulf Coast News and WBBH.
The girl’s mother, Nadia Lendel, wrote in a story on Instagram, where she has over 90,000 followers, that Leah was undergoing surgery.
“Please keep our family in your prayers,” the Instagram story reads. “Leah got bit by a shark today while snorkeling.”
According to a GoFundMe raising funds for Leah’s medical expenses, the young girl was bitten on the hand while playing in the water with her siblings.
“She is now stable and going through surgery – fighting hard for her road to recovery,” the GoFundMe says.
The fundraising page also said Leah’s family does not currently have medical insurance, and they expect “the journey ahead will be long and full of physical and emotional healing.”
USA TODAY contacted Nadia Lendel for comment on June 12 but has not received a response.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 9-year-old girl survives shark attack in Florida
