A SHARK dragged an American dad beneath the waves and sank its teeth into his leg as his horrified wife and sons watched during their 40th anniversary vacation.

The predator struck so quickly that the 69-year-old had no time to react before he was pulled underwater.

69-year-old John Schweizer was snorkeling when he was attacked by a shark

Schweizer needed 26 stitches in his leg and another four in his hand

The nightmare unfolded off the Bahamas on July 24 as John Schweizer snorkeled with Caribbean reef sharks during a family adventure cruise.

“It was so fast, so immediate that you knew it happened,” the Connecticut man told NBC Connecticut.

“No doubt about it.”

Schweizer was traveling with his wife, Marcy, and their adult sons, Tom and Joey, to celebrate four decades of marriage.

The shark-watching excursion was supposed to be the highlight of the milestone getaway.

“Beautiful diving. Beautiful clear water and we dove with the sharks,” Schweizer said.

But the peaceful swim turned terrifying when Tom spotted a shark moving upward beneath his father.

Before Schweizer fully realized what was happening, the animal pulled him below the surface and bit into his left shin.

“It pulled me under for a second,” he told the Stamford Advocate.

Tom yelled that his father had been bitten, but Marcy initially thought her husband was playing a prank.

Schweizer said she told him to “stop fooling around” before the severity of the attack became clear.

Once he was hauled back onto the boat, the family saw that he was losing a large amount of blood.

Schweizer was traveling with his wife, Marcy, and their adult sons, Tom and Joey, to celebrate four decades of marriage

The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File lists only four recorded unprovoked shark attack

“We used many, many towels and tourniquets to hold and keep the blood at bay,” he said.

The crew rushed him back to the cruise ship, where an emergency doctor treated his wounds.

Schweizer needed 26 stitches in his leg and another four in his hand.

He was then transported to a Miami hospital for further care.

After spending one day there, he was allowed to return home because he was recovering well and could walk.

Schweizer lives in the seaside village of Niantic, Connecticut, where his neighbors gave him an unusual welcome.

They dressed in shark costumes to greet him after his return.

“That’s my neighborhood, and they’re wonderful people,” he said.

The guides had reportedly told Schweizer’s family that Caribbean reef sharks were not aggressive before they entered the water.

They were advised to jump straight in rather than ease themselves into the sea, in an effort to scatter any sharks nearby.

Attacks involving the species are extremely rare.

The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File lists only four recorded unprovoked attacks involving Caribbean reef sharks and no fatalities.

Schweizer is a retired financial adviser and an experienced fisherman who has often encountered sand tiger sharks in Long Island Sound.

But the brutal encounter has ended any desire to get that close to a shark again.

Asked whether he would repeat the experience, Schweizer replied: “No. Not at all and I won’t do it again.”

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16791874/connecticut-man-shark-attack-while-snorkeling-anniversary-vacation/