Marine Life Teen girl fights off sharks - Belize

[DandyDon]

Aspen teen attacked by 2 sharks shares story of resilience, goal of helping others​

ASPEN, Colo. (KDVR) — A 16-year-old Colorado girl is sharing her story after fighting off two sharks on a family vacation. She sat down exclusively with FOX31’s Nicole Fierro to share her journey of resilience after the attacks.

“I would never anticipate I would be attacked by a shark, but here I am,” Annabelle Carlson said.

Not one shark, but two, attacked Carlson, 16, who resides in Aspen, and was on a family vacation in Belize in August 2025 when it happened.

“We really loved to travel as a family, and that was like our big, fun vacation of the summer,” Carlson said.


Three days into the trip, Carlson and her mom dove 120 feet deep into the dark ocean, noting that her family loves scuba diving together and are certified divers.

“There were probably like three or four sharks that we saw,” Carlson said. “And we also saw some really cool fish.”


After their scuba diving adventure in the Blue Hole, Carlson and her mom got back on the boat to join Carlson’s siblings, who wanted to take turns jumping off the top deck.

“I decided to go first,” Carlson said. “And when I jumped and hit the water, a shark came from under the boat and started biting my hands.”

Survival instincts kicked in as Carlson told FOX31 she hit and punched the shark about six times.

“So we were face to face and it was only biting my hands at this point,” Carlson said. “The other dive group was still in the water as this was happening and they threw me a life ring. My hands were pretty mangled so I couldn’t really grab it but I did a loop with my arms. And as they were pulling me in, another shark came and bit my right leg.”

Carlson said people started throwing oxygen tanks at the shark to try to get it off of her so she could get back on the boat.

“And that’s when we realized that the boat itself, the first aid kit, didn’t actually have the right medical equipment for life-saving measures. So this guy who I’m so thankful for, that was a tourist in our dive group, threw me a tourniquet that he had. They put that on my leg to stop the bleeding,” said Carlson.

Carlson said she had to fight to stay conscious for an hour and a half boat ride to an island where a helicopter and emergency responders rushed her to a hospital.

“It was like the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life was stay awake, because at that point I didn’t really realized that me falling asleep would mean falling unconscious and possibly not making it out,” said Carlson.

Once stabilized, she spent a month in a Miami hospital for treatment. When she finally got home to Aspen, she realized something was wrong with her leg.

“The shark, when it bit me, the bite was from my ankle to just below my knee. And from there, this is kind of like graphic, but it was mostly just bone,” said Carlson. “It, like, took all the flesh. And I guess that big of an open wound gave way to like an infection.”

She was rushed to Children’s Hospital Colorado to treat a “one-in-a-million” mycobacterial infection.

“We’ve had to take her back for multiple surgeries because of that infection,” Dr. Julia Sanders, Director of Pediatric Orthopedic Trauma at Children’s Hospital Colorado, told FOX31. “And so that has just set her back again and again. But she is already back running on a prosthetic limb, working out. She does pilates. She’s just an incredible kid. She’s been back scuba diving. So really just a reminder of how resilient kids can be.”


“I would just say that everything happens for a reason and you’re always going to make it out of it,” Carlson said. “There’s always going to be light at the end of the tunnel.”

Carlson also said she had about a dozen surgeries so far and another one in a month.

She has big, athletic and altruistic ambitions ahead.

“One of my biggest goals is to be able to start a foundation to donate first aid kits to boats and camps and just people who need them because that’s what saved my life,” Carlson said. “If I didn’t get a tourniquet, I wouldn’t be here today.”

 

[tallman]

Insane story and they are lucky the other dive had the right medical kit. Shame on the dive boat and company for not having it on hand. It sounds like she is resilient and bad ass. Never dove in Belize, do they chum the water there? Could her splashing in caused the shark to attack?

 

[also_anon_dc]

It sounds like this happened at the Blue Hole dive site which is always really crowded (and they do not chum the water there). I'm really surprised this happened at such a busy dive site. However, I am not at all surprised the boat's emergency first aid kit didn't contain important life saving equipment like a tourniquet.

 

[DandyDon]

I've read of divers carrying tourniquets and offering suggestions on where to buy them. I'm really impressed that she returned to diving afterwards.

 

[hammet]

Brave kid. With a sense of humor.

 

[dlofting]

A bit reluctant to jump in here because I have no idea of how deep or where exactly her wounds were located. However the lack of first aid supplies on the boat was extremely unfortunate. The tourniquet was used because that was all that was available but it probably was not required in that situation and may have caused damage to the limb due to the lack of blood flow during the boat trip to the helicopter.

There is always a tradeoff with a tourniquet. It can save life if a limb is amputated or a significant artery lacerated, but can cause damage if left on too long.

Like the diver on the boat, I carry one, but I also have pressure compresses and some Israeli bandages, which may have been a better choice in this situation, had they been available.

Other than the lack of first aid supplies on the boat this is not a criticism of anything that was done for the girl, just food for thought.

 

[Steelyeyes]

I guess you never know what your luck will be. People make giant stride entries there pretty much every day without the splashing triggering a shark event.

The day we dived the Blue Hole I was hanging out over the sand waiting to be last up the ladder and relaxing at the end of the dive. I was the only one in the water when the grey reef shark came in, circled and left.

 

[DandyDon]

I guess you never know what your luck will be. People make giant stride entries there pretty much every day without the splashing triggering a shark event.

That's true. Surfers are known to refer to them as The Landlord, but the odds of a shark strike are lower than killed by falling coconuts or a cow trapling. I've survived the latter.

However the lack of first aid supplies on the boat was extremely unfortunate. The tourniquet was used because that was all that was available but it probably was not required in that situation and may have caused damage to the limb due to the lack of blood flow during the boat trip to the helicopter.

Yeah, I wouldn't know how to use one safely if I had one. I hope the one I ordered has instructions. I can look them up now, but I'll forget. Google says up to two hours and the article said it was one & half boat ride.

 

[also_anon_dc]

I don't think any of the news articles named the location, this one didn't;

After their scuba diving adventure in the Blue Hole, Carlson and her mom got back on the boat to join Carlson’s siblings, who wanted to take turns jumping off the top deck.

“I decided to go first,” Carlson said. “And when I jumped and hit the water, a shark came from under the boat and started biting my hands.”

This suggests this happened after diving the Blue Hole. Sounds like they got back on the boat, took off their gear then jumped off the top deck.

 

[DandyDon]

This suggests this happened after diving the Blue Hole. Sounds like they got back on the boat, took off their gear then jumped off the top deck.

I stand corrected.