Teen loses leg after horror double shark attack during dream scuba diving holiday

A teenager who lost a leg in a shark attack during a scuba diving trip has described the moment she realised she had been bitten.

Annabelle Carlson, from Aspen, Colorado, was visiting Belizewith her family when the incident happened in August last year. The teen said she and her siblings decided to jump off their boat during a scuba excursion in the Gulf of Honduras - and she was bitten almost immediately after entering the water near Half Moon Caye.

"A shark came from under the boat and started biting my hands," the 16-year-old said, adding that she instinctively "threw a few punches" to try and fight off the first reef shark. She added: "I didn't really know what was going on, and then it kind of dawned on me that I was being attacked by a shark."

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Annabelle's family threw a life ring at her in an attempt to rescue her - but it was at this point that the second shark bit her too. "I kind of looped it in my arm because my hands were pretty damaged, and they started to pull me in, and that's when the second shark attacked," she told NewsNation affiliate KDVR.

The girl said her leg was "pretty much gone" and "it was kind of just bone from right below my knee to my ankle." Annabelle and her family took nearly an hour and a half to reach an island where they could take a helicopter to transfer her to Belize Healthcare Partners hospital in Belize City.

Once at the hospital, Annabelle's leg was amputated and less than 24 hours later, she was transferred to a hospital in Miami for further treatment. She spent a month in hospital. One year on from the ordeal, Annabelle said she is trying to look at the positive side of things - and last Halloween, she even dressed up as a shark attack survivor alongside a friend who wore a shark costume.

Days after the attack, Annabelle's mum Kellie said she was "grateful" that she had survived. "I'm forever grateful to everyone who kept her alive the last week through science and prayer," she wrote. "I'm so lucky I still get to give her kisses and comfort her through her pain. She's a warrior and she will get through this."

Considering the number of tourists who dive in Belize every year, the number of shark bites remains low. Over the past 100 years, only three unprovoked attacks have been recorded - with the incident involving Annabelle being considered the most serious.

Most shark attacks in the central American country have occurred during recreational activities like scuba diving and spearfishing, especially near popular dive sites such as the Blue Hole, Halfmoon Caye and Ambergris Caye. Incidents like those involving a spearfisher and a bait-fisher are classified as provoked and not considered part of the unprovoked attack statistics.