There's a reason the most common advice for boating in the Florida Everglades is keep your hands out of the water: A shocking video recently posted on Michael Russo's Instagram page and reshared by The Qualified Captain shows a guy reaching into the water to wash his hands, only to be immediately pulled in by a shark who grabbed hold.
According to the post's caption and subsequent reports, the group had been fishing all day with sharks stealing their catches at every turn. The group had just released a snook and, assumedly, the man in the video wanted to wash his hands off from the fish.
Right before the attack, the video records someone off-camera saying, "I wouldn't put your hands in there."
To which, the soon-to-be victim replies, "Two seconds won't do anything."
"After releasing a snook, elarjan washed his hands in the water and was immediately bit by a large shark," Russo's Instagram caption read.
More than just taking a bit, the voracious shark reached up out of the water and pulled the fisherman right off the boat.
The angler was taken to Miami Dade Fire Rescue for treatment, then to a hospital by EMTs. His current status is unconfirmed.
According to ABC News, the man was fishing in Florida Bay, the 1,360-square-foot lagoon between the Florida Keys and the southern edge of the Florida peninsula.
"The sharks are no joke in the Everglades, and the warnings about keeping your hands out of the water are not an exaggeration," the caption continued.
Officials with the Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks released a statement that the man reported the incident to park rangers. A ranger who treated him stated the injury was "consistent with a shark bite."
"While shark bites are extremely uncommon in Everglades National Park, we always recommend visitors take caution around park wildlife," the NPS said.
The shark was probably a bull shark, according to the chief of communications and public affairs for Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, Allyson Gantt. Commenters on the video, though, say it looks looks more like a lemon shark.
Bull sharks have been known to be in the area, and other attacks have been reported. Bull sharks live in saltwater and fresh and can grow to be 11 feet or greater and top out at 700 pounds. This attack seemed to be unprovoked.
"There was no chum or blood in the water," the post read. "Please take this as a lesson and keep your hands out of the water."
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