Shark Attacks Southland Model During Bahamas Vacation

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — The marina area off Staniel Cay in the Bahamas has become a Mecca for swimming with nurse sharks and wild pigs, but one local teenager got a bit more than she bargained for while on vacation in June.

Katarina Zarutskie, 19, a nursing student, model and Laguna Beach resident on vacation with her boyfriend and his family decided to jump in with the nurse sharks. After splashing into the water near the marina to swim with the usually docile creatures, a nearby nurse shark attacked her wrist, according to NBC reports.

Several photos were taken of the incident by Zartuskie's boyfriend's father, according to NBC. She started her float with arms up and hands above the water, as directed by the Staniel Cay Yacht Club's sign. Still, somehow, a nurse shark caught a bite of Zartuskie.

The 5-foot long shark clamped down on Zarutskie's wrist and dragged her under water, she told reporters.

"I could feel his teeth sinking into my arm," she said during an NBC interview. "I was pulled under water for a few seconds, then ripped my wrist out of the shark's mouth as fast as I could."

She clamped down on the bleeding wound, keeping her arm above water to not further tempt the feeding sharks and fled, according to reports. Doctors on the island and the next day in Florida treated her arm, which showed puncture wounds and scrapes.

An experienced surfer, Zartuskie told NBC she was not afraid to jump in with the nurse sharks hanging out near a marina.

Her boyfriend's family "was freaking out" when she decided to swim with the nurse sharks, according to the report. "I was like, it's fine," she told reporters.

Doctors told her that she may still have "pieces of shark teeth" in her arm, and the bite will scar which could affect her modeling career. She told NBC that she feels fortunate to still have her arm, and her life.

Swimmers at Staniel Cay are warned that "the usually docile nurse sharks can and do bite, and swimmers are advised to jump in at their own risk," a sign at the yacht club says.

They are also told to "keep their hands above water and away from the sharks mouth at all times," according to a sign posted by Staniel Cay Yacht Club, according to NBC.

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