Man survived a horrific shark attack in the Caribbean. He shared what happened to him

Peter in a hospital bed with his left arm bandaged next to his wife Joana.

He and his wife Joana from Hertfordshire were vacationing with friends, and thoughts of shark attack risks didn't even arise — such incidents were practically unheard of on this small Caribbean island.

'Suddenly I felt a very heavy object hit my leg. I looked down — and there was a shark. And it was big,' Peter recounts. 'About three meters, no less. At that moment, the brain starts working fast.'

He was bitten by a bull shark — one of the most dangerous in the world, known for hunting in shallow waters.

The attack happened in April 2024. Now, Peter has for the first time told the BBC about the horror he experienced — and explained why he still isn't afraid of sharks.

'The situation very quickly became critical'

The 66-year-old man says he instantly recognized the jaws of a bull shark clamped onto his leg. Fearing he would be dragged underwater, he decided to fight back.

'I started hitting the shark. Honestly, I don't know exactly what I was trying to do, but I was hitting it,' Peter says. 'I can honestly say: I've never hit anything as hard in my life as I hit that shark then. After it bit my leg, it managed to attack my left arm, and then my stomach. The situation very quickly became serious. I lost a lot of blood.'

Eventually, the animal stopped its attack, and people nearby were able to pull Peter out of the water.

His friends John and Moira, who were nearby in the sea, helped fight off the shark and raised the alarm. On shore, Joana, hearing Moira's cries, rushed to the water.

'I remember walking into the water and seeing his horrific injuries. Bones were visible — it was simply terrifying,' Joana recalls. 'And then someone said: "Get her out of here."

Peter was taken to the only hospital in Tobago with deep lacerations to his abdomen, a bite to his arm, and part of his thigh literally torn away by the shark.

He recalls how pain overwhelmed him already during the ambulance ride: 'I'm screaming, crying, losing a lot of blood, and losing consciousness. People are yelling at me not to fall asleep.'

64-year-old Joana, a former NHS (National Health Service in the UK) employee, says she didn't know if her husband would even survive the ambulance ride: 'He was so pale — it was really terrifying.'

Павялічыць

Peter lies on the beach after the attack, surrounded by people.

She recalls how doctors in Tobago asked if she could sign consent for the amputation of her husband's limbs if needed — and then realized he urgently needed to be evacuated from the island.

'They ran out of blood... he used up all the blood supplies on Tobago,' says Joana.

Peter was transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, for specialized treatment. Over the next few weeks, he underwent dozens of operations — specifically one, during which doctors said they would apply a special membrane to the wound to prepare the surface for a skin graft.

'And then they laughed. We asked: "What's funny?" And they replied: "The membrane is made from shark,"' Peter laughs. 'So now I have a piece of shark in my leg.'

Thus began the long road to recovery. Due to the injury to his upper thigh, he had to learn to walk again, and nerve damage in his hand, which the shark bit through, means he still can't feel his fingers and has problems with grip — these consequences will stay with him for life.

'I am very grateful. I have mobility issues, but I have my limbs,' he says. 'At one point, it seemed like I wouldn't have them at all.'

He thanks not only the doctors but also the friends who came to his aid during the attack.

'I wasn't fighting alone — there were people nearby who showed incredible courage. I will be grateful to them forever.'

Павялічыць

A huge shark bite mark on Peter's arm. Nerve damage in his hand means he still can't feel his fingers and has difficulty gripping.

Bull sharks are linked to several recent attacks in Australia. In late January, the country recorded four shark attacks within just 48 hours, one of which resulted in the death of a 12-year-old boy. Three attacks occurred within 15 km along the East Coast.

This prompted experts to emphasize that shark attacks are still very rare compared to the number of people who use the sea for recreation, and to urge people to remember: the ocean is a wild element with inherent risks.

According to the internationally renowned International Shark Attack File, the attack on Peter in 2024 was the first and only recorded shark attack in Tobago's history.

Peter doesn't want what happened to him to harm Tobago's reputation and says he has no reason to be afraid.

'The people in Tobago were incredibly kind to me. They depend on tourism. I would go back there,' he emphasizes. 'I still think about the sky and the sea. What's the point of surviving a shark attack if you spend the rest of your life in fear?'

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