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The woman was treated and has since been released. Unfortunately, the shark wasn't so lucky. Video provided by Newsy Newslook
Paramedics in Boca Raton, Fla., rushed a beachgoer to the hospital with a two-foot-long nurse shark clinging to her arm on May 15, 2016.(Photo: None, City of Boca Raton Fire Rescue Services)
Bob Lemons has seen a few shark attack victims<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the oceanside Florida town of Boca Raton, but he says Sunday's incident<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was a first for him.
Paramedics rushed a beachgoer to the hospital with a two-foot-long nurse shark clinging to her arm after efforts to disengage it failed.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Lemons, spokesman for the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Boca Raton Fire Rescue, said the 23-year-old woman was already out of the water when rescuers reached the beach.
"She was sitting calmly, seemed to handle it pretty well," Lemons told USA TODAY on Monday. But rescuers could not get the shark to release<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— even though it had died. So they loaded woman and shark into the ambulance and headed for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
"This was a unique situation for us," Lemons said. "I haven't heard of something like that before, and I've been here almost 30 years."
The woman was treated for her injuries and released.
USA TODAY
Woman bitten by shark in Florida
Nurse sharks, common off of Florida's coast, are<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about 1 foot in length at birth and generally grow to about 7 feet long. The maximum length recorded is about 13 feet, according to the National Park Service.
The Park Service says people<span style="color: Red;">*</span>swim near nurse sharks every day without realizing it and without incident. "Attacks" are rare and typically are the result of the shark being bothered with a hook, spear or hand.
"The bite reflex is such that it may be some minutes before a quietly re-immersed nurse shark will relax and release its tormenter," the park service says. "The small teeth seldom penetrate deeply but are razor sharp. Holding still reduces damage to both shark and man. Leaving sharks alone is the best tactic.
Lemon said shark attacks are not uncommon in the warm ocean waters off Boca Raton. Serious injuries are rare, however.
"Sharks are something you always live with when you live near the ocean," he said.
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