Brave girl, 16, fights off pack of sharks - but then suffers bitter blow

A brave 16-year-old girl managed to fight off a pack of sharks only to tragically suffer a cruel blow when her leg subsequently had to be amputated.

Annabelle Carlson survived being attacked by two sharks during a holiday in Belize, although she was left with mangled hands as well as a chunk missing from her leg. The teen, from Aspen, Colorado said her family the holiday in August last year war meant to be "fun."

But just three days into the trip Annabelle and her mum, both of whom are certified divers, dove 120 feet into the ocean. During the dive she said there were maybe three or four sharks and some "really cool fish."

Then as they climbed back into the boat, Annabelle and her siblings decided to take turns jumping into the sea. Shortly after splashing in, a shark raced for Annabelle and bit her hands, though the teen managed to fight back, punching it six times.

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"So we were face to face and it was only biting my hands at this point," Annabelle said. She added her hands were "pretty mangled" and that she could not grab a life ring as a result.

Horrified bystanders threw oxygen tanks at a second shark that swam up and bit the teen on her right leg. After Annabelle managed to clamber back on board, the family soon realised there was no life-saving equipment leading a tourist to step in a throw a tourniquet over her leg to stop the bleeding.

Annabelle battled to remain conscious as the boat returned to the island it departed from. When they finally arrived, a helicopter and emergency crews raced to take her to 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 realize that me falling asleep would mean falling unconscious and possibly not making it out," Annabelle told KDVR. Days after the attack, her mum Kellie took to Facebook to praise her daughter following the "brutal" attack.

"I'm forever grateful to everyone who kept her alive the last week through science and prayer," she added. "I'm so lucky I still get to give her kisses and comfort her through her pain. She's a warrior and she will get through this."

Annabelle spent a month at a Miami hospital before she noticed a problem with her leg when she returned home. An infection had taken hold and she was rushed to he Children's Hospital Colorado in October where she was diagnosed with a "one-in-a-million" mycobacterial infection.

In a bitter blow, Annabelle's leg was amputated below the knee and she now uses a prosthetic limb. But that has not dampened Annabelle's spirits and she has even taken to finding the funny in the horrific incident.

On Halloween last year, a friend of Annabelle's worse a shark costume and the teen survivor dressed with a rag wrapped around her leg that was doused in fake blood. Annabelle now wants to start a foundation to donate firs aid kits and camps and those in need.

In a GoFundMe page dedicated to the teen's recovery, her battle for her life was summed up "Annabelle 1, shark 0." The campaign has raised $218,739 (£161,977) out of a $250,000 (£185,126) target and it can be viewed here.