A South Carolina beachgoer is lucky to be alive after walking away with serious injuries from a suspected shark attack earlier this week.

The incident reportedly occurred off the coast of the south end of Hilton Head Island on Tuesday, a Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

“The incident involved a patient with a leg injury consistent with lacerations typically associated with a shark bite,” the department said in a statement.

9-year-old Leah Lendel was bitten by a shark in the waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast on June 11, 2025.  (iStock)

Lendel was pulled from the water by a nearby construction crew and airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where she underwent surgery involving artery grafts, bone reconstruction and nerve repair.

“I didn’t see anything,” Lendel said at a news conference Thursday. “I was just snorkeling and I went up to breathe, then something hard bit me and it tried to take me away. Then I pick up my hand and it’s all in blood. Then, I started screaming with my mom. And then, my dad was with me. He picked me up, then we ran to the road.

Doctors were able to save Lendel’s hand, a feat they partially credit to how “clean” the bite was. 

“The shark’s teeth are so sharp that the cut through the wrist is clean and not jagged, and it doesn’t ruin all the tissue,” Dr. Alfred Hess said.

Lendel anticipates she will return to the water once she has made a full recovery.

“She’s done a fantastic job, I can already tell you,” Dr. Joshua Linnell said. “I just keep looking over at those fingers because we worked hard on that.”

Lendel’s family did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.