A 16-year-old teenager, Annabelle Carlson from Aspen, Colorado, recounted the terrifying moment she lost a leg in a shark attack while scuba diving in Belize last August. During a family excursion in the Gulf of Honduras near Half Moon Caye, Annabelle was attacked by a shark soon after entering the water. She described how a shark emerged from under the boat and began biting her hands, prompting her to try to defend herself by throwing punches. Realizing the severity of the situation, she came to terms with being under a shark attack.
Despite her family’s efforts to rescue her by throwing a life ring, a second shark attacked Annabelle. Sustaining severe injuries to her hands, she clutched the life ring on her arm as they tried to pull her to safety, only to face another shark bite. Annabelle vividly described her leg as nearly severed, with exposed bone from below her knee to her ankle. It took her family around an hour and a half to transport her to an island for a helicopter transfer to Belize Healthcare Partners hospital in Belize City.
At the hospital, Annabelle underwent a leg amputation, followed by a transfer to a Miami hospital for further treatment within less than 24 hours. After spending a month in hospital, she remains positive and resilient, even dressing up as a shark attack survivor for Halloween with a friend dressed as a shark.
Her mother, Kellie, expressed gratitude for Annabelle’s survival, acknowledging the support received from medical professionals and the power of prayer. Despite the rarity of shark attacks in Belize, with only three unprovoked incidents recorded in the past century, Annabelle’s case is deemed the most severe.
Shark attacks in Belize typically occur during recreational activities like scuba diving and spearfishing, particularly near popular sites such as the Blue Hole, Halfmoon Caye, and Ambergris Caye. Attacks involving spearfishers and bait-fishers are classified as provoked and not included in unprovoked attack statistics.