Latest news with #GulfCoastNews
Daily Mirror
20-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Mum terrified as girl, 9, walks out of sea with no hand and covered in blood
Leah Lendel, 9, was snorkelling in Florida on June 11 when she was attacked by a shark. She was airlifted to hospital and underwent a six-hour surgery to repair her hand A nine-year-old girl has recalled the moment she realised her hand had been bitten off in a terrifying shark attack. Leah Lendel shared her story during a press conference on Thursday, June 19, just over a week after she was bitten by a shark while snorkelling in Florida on June 11. "I was just snorkelling, and then I went up to breathe," Leah explained. "Then something hard bit me and tried to tug me away. I looked at my hand, and it was covered in blood. I started screaming for my mom." Her mother, Nadia, who was nearby, immediately realized the severity of the situation. "I looked over and saw her hand was almost completely gone," she said. "The water around her was filled with blood. In that moment, I knew it was a shark attack." READ MORE: World's biggest Great White Shark tracker LIVE: 14ft monster mapped in ocean after tourist warning Emergency crews responded to a report of a possible shark bite around noon near the 2200 block of Shore Lane on Boca Grande Island, Fire Chief C.W. Blosser said in a video statement. Leah's father, Jay Lendel, said first responders arrived within three minutes of the call. Nearby construction workers also jumped in to help the family. One of them, Alfonso Tello, told Gulf Coast News that he saw what appeared to be an 8-foot shark in the water when he tried to assist. "When we saw the little girl coming out of the water without a hand, it was like something out of a horror movie," Tello said. "Everyone was in shock." Leah was airlifted to a hospital and underwent a six-hour emergency surgery to repair her hand. The following day, on June 12, Nadia confirmed to Gulf Coast News that doctors had managed to reconstruct Leah's hand. "They took arteries from her leg to restore blood flow," Nadia explained. "They also inserted pins to stabilise the bones. Some of the tissue is still open, but thank God, she can move her fingers." Chief Blosser added that this was the first reported shark bite on Boca Grande Island in nearly two decades. Leah continues to recover in hospital with the help of her family, a therapy dog named Belle and a team of medical professionals who'll help her regain full use of her hand. Asked how she's been able to handle everything so well, Leah replied shyly: "I don't know." Dr. Alfred Hess, an orthopedic surgeon, said Leah's case had "a great outcome." "A shark injury is both a blessing and a curse in this case," he said. "The teeth are so sharp that the cut through the wrist is clean and not jagged, so it doesn't ruin all the tissue and we have clean tissue to work with." He said he's seen all kinds of animal-inflicted wounds in his 35 years of practice, including alligators, lions and sharks. Sharks' mouths, he said, "are like a bunch of razor blades. They go through tissue." Treating the wounds, he added, "is all about if you have something left to put back on."
Newsweek
16-06-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Girl Has 'Miracle' Surgery After Shark Nearly Bites Off Hand
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A 10-year-old girl whose hand was almost completely bitten off by a shark has reportedly undergone successful surgery to reattach her limb. Leah Lendel was snorkeling off the coast of Boca Grande, Florida, when the horror unfolded on Wednesday. The suspected bull shark attack made headlines around the world, and body-worn footage from an attending police officer caught the moment the child's mother, influencer Nadia Lendel, described seeing "blood everywhere" and her daughter's hand "hanging off" as she raised it for help. The girl was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, the region's only Level I trauma center, and it's believed she was operated on there. Newsweek has reached out by email to Nadia Lendel seeking comment. A bull shark pictured on December 21, 2007, in the Bahamas. A bull shark pictured on December 21, 2007, in the It Matters There had been fears the little girl could be left permanently disabled if surgeons were unable to reattach her hand. The shark attack follows a number of similar incidents in the waters off the U.S. Coast in recent years. A 45-year-old woman and two teenage girls were injured in separate attacks in Florida's Walton County last June, while attacks have also occurred in a number of other states, such as South Carolina. What To Know Police camera footage filmed at the scene last week shows an officer arriving to find Leah Lendel being treated by paramedics as she lies on the sand. "You're being very brave," one tells her. "Very strong." The officer then speaks to the child's mother, who tells him: "The water was probably 4ft deep. And so she just dips in, like, she always snorkels, and she's up and around. And then she flies out and I look over, because I don't know if I heard a yell or what, but she went like that"—the mom began to weep as she mimed lifting her hand from the water—"and I could see her hand hanging. And there's blood everywhere." Nadia Lendel has subsequently shared updates on her Instagram page with her 98,000 followers. She described how the shark bit her daughter's wrist, leaving her hand "hanging on by just the skin." Lendel had been holding her two toddlers in their floaties just a few feet away when her older daughter was attacked, the Gulf Coast News website reported. When the mom realized what had happened, she screamed for help and tried to get her other children to safety. Leah's dad swam to try to help, but Leah managed to make her own way to shore first. Nearby construction crews rushed to her aid, with one making a tourniquet to stop the bleeding as another called 911, according to reports. Leah's father accompanied her on the flight to the hospital, where the surgeons operated on her for six hours. The shark vanished after the attack, and swimmers in the area are advised to remain vigilant. What People Are Saying Mom Nadia Lendel shared an update on Leah's condition to her Instagram page on Friday, although her account's settings have now been switched to "private." Her daughter underwent a lengthy surgery on Wednesday, she said, and was now "able to move all her fingers." She described the outcome as a "miracle" and went on to thank well-wishers for their support and prayers. She later sent a brief message to Gulf Coast News saying: "They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand. Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues. They will be monitoring her here for a week. But thank God she can move her fingers." What Happens Next The girl's uncle, Max Derinskiy, has set up a GoFundMe donations page, which has so far raised almost $46,000 of its $80,000 goal. "While we are beyond grateful that Leah survived, the journey ahead will be long and full of physical and emotional healing," he said. "The Life Flight alone comes with an overwhelming medical bill, not to mention the ongoing care she will need: possible surgeries, physical therapy, counseling, and more. We are setting up this GoFundMe to help relieve some of the financial burden on her family during this unimaginable time as they do not currently have insurance. Every donation—big or small—will go directly to medical expenses, travel costs for treatment, and anything else Leah needs to recover and feel herself again."
New York Post
13-06-2025
- New York Post
‘Brave' 9-year-old girl seen on bodycam footage moments after shark nearly bites off her hand: ‘Blood everywhere'
Newly released bodycam footage shows the harrowing moments after a shark nearly bit the hand off of a 9-year-old girl who was snorkeling off the coast of Florida. Little Leah Lendel was in the water near Boca Grande with her parents and siblings at around noon Wednesday when the apex predator suddenly chomped down on her right hand — tearing it mostly off at the wrist, according to Gulf Coast News. Police bodycam footage showed several medics crowding around the girl and reassuring her she was 'very strong' and 'brave' before taking her into an ambulance, according to the clip obtained by the outlet. Advertisement 4 Leah Lendel was snorkeling off the shore of Boca Grande just four feet away from her famous influencer mother Nadia and younger siblings on June 11, when she was bitten by the shark. Lee County Sheriff's Office The footage also showed her mother, Nadia Lendel, in tears as she described the attack to cops. 'I looked over and I just saw her move her hand like that,' the mother said, throwing her hand up in the air. 'I just saw her hand hanging, there was just blood everywhere.' Advertisement 'I started screaming to my husband, yelling I needed to get out and grab the babies. Didn't know who to grab. Got the point, it was a shark,' Nadia, who was holding her two other toddler kids in the water, said in the video. 4 The footage also showed her mother, Nadia Lendel, in tears as she described the attack to cops. Lee County Sheriff's Office Leah's father, who was swimming farther away, rushed to help his daughter to shore and good Samaritans then wrapped her hand in a tourniquet. 'Somebody [was] screaming, 'Help, help, help!' Raynel Lugo, a nearby worker, told WINK News. 'It was like five kids on the water, mom and dad on the water, and I saw a shark right on top of the lady [and] little kid.' Advertisement 'She was walking outside with [her] hand out bleeding, like really bad. So [a co-worker] put a towel on it to stop the bleeding. And I called 911,' Lugo said. 4 The attack left the 9-year-old girl with severe injuries. GoFundMe The youngster was airlifted to a hospital in Tampa, where she underwent a six-hour surgery, and doctors were able to save her hand. Nadia Lendel, a blogger with over 97,000 followers on Instagram, said Leah was able to move all of her fingers Friday morning. Advertisement 'This is truly a MIRACLE,' the mom of five wrote, with a picture of her next to her daughter's hospital bed. 4 Nadia Lendel is a blogger with over 97,000 followers on Instagram. Lee County Sheriff's Office Leah's uncle, Max Derinskiy, said the girl will likely remain in the hospital for a while and then undergo 'a lot of physical therapy to hopefully get her hand functioning again,' according to NBC News. Derinskiy has since set up an online fundraiser to help the family with medical bills. The attack was likely from a bull shark because it's both mating season and 'tarpon season' — meaning there's an abundance of fish that the sharks eat in the area, naturalist Rob Howell told WINK News. Bull sharks generally grow to 7 to 11 feet in length.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Posthaste: Canadian snowbirds now have more reasons than Trump to dump that Florida condo
More Canadian snowbirds are putting their properties in Florida on the market, according to media reports, but unloading them might not be that easy — especially condos. Real estate in the Sunshine State boomed during the pandemic, but now the tables have turned and the condo market is in a serious slump, said Admir Kolaj, a Toronto Dominion economist, in a recent report. Condos play a big role in Florida real estate. There are about 1.5 million of them, accounting for 15 per cent of the state's housing stock, double the national share. Over the past three months, sales have dropped 13 per cent and are down more than 25 per cent from pre-pandemic levels. Prices have fallen about 8 per cent from their peak, said Kolaj. Inventories are climbing, with close to 80,000 condos and townhomes for sale, about 20,000 or 35 per cent more than a year ago. Headwinds buffeting the market include higher interest rates (mortgage rates in the U.S. are still close to 7 per cent), a steep drop-off in domestic migration and economic uncertainty brought on by Donald Trump's tariff war. But Florida condos face their own special set of problems. For one, the Sunshine State is the most expensive in America for homeowners insurance, with condo-specific premiums estimated at double the national average, said Kolaj. Homeowner association fees are also climbing under new stricter regulation on condo inspections and repairs. Buildings older than 30 years — more than half the condos in Florida — must undergo milestone inspections and condo associations have to foot the bill for repairs. Kolaj said in some reported cases where there was the need for major repairs special assessment fees ran into the thousands. 'Given all the headwinds that the condo sector faces, it is no wonder that many owners are choosing to list their units for sale, growing the glut in an already-flooded market,' he said. Canadians are among them. Florida has the largest share of foreign home buyers in America, accounting for 20 per cent of the national total. Twenty-seven per cent of those buyers are Canadian, the highest percentage save for Latin Americans. According to media reports, more of those Canadians are putting their properties on the market, spurred by a weaker dollar, stricter travel requirements and Trump's repeated comments about Canada as the 51st state. Realtors in Florida told CNN earlier this year they have seen a 'sharp uptick' in Canadians looking to sell their homes. 'Some of the clients I have been dealing with want to sell at any cost, even at a loss,' said Share Ross, a realtor based in southeast Florida. Gulf Coast News reported in April that Canadians were making a 'mass exodus' from Southwest Florida, after the U.S. required background checks and fingerprints if they planned to stay more than 30 days in the state. Reduced foreign interest is just one more thing on a long list of challenges facing Florida's condo market, said Kolaj. And owners may have to wait a while for a rebound. There are indications that the state will soften its law on older condos and if other conditions fall into place the condo market could find firmer footing by late 2026, he said. to get Posthaste delivered straight to your labour productivity is finally making gains. As today's chart from BMO Capital Markets shows productivity growth is on the rise and catching up to the growth rate of the United States, though that has been declining. Statistics Canada said last week that productivity grew 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. That's down from 1.2 per cent growth in fourth quarter of 2024, but it is the first time there have been consecutive quarterly increases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 'The bad news is that productivity could take a hit in the coming quarters as economic growth is expected to slow meaningfully due to trade uncertainty,' said BMO senior economist Shelly Kaushik. Former prime ministers Jean Chretien, Joe Clark and other politicians and experts attend a summit in Calgary to discuss issues including peace and security, trade, energy security and critical minerals, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Today's Data: United States Producer price index Earnings: Transat AT Inc., Adobe Inc. National Bank's $5 billion megadeal was decades in the making for Dominic Paradis Can Canada repair ties with China? How the two countries could end the tariffs war and expand trade Don't assume further rate cuts from the Bank of Canada, Poloz warns With the cost of homes on the rise, the typical first-time homebuyer in Canada looks different than in the past. The Financial Post takes a look at who is buying and what it takes for them to own their first home. Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@ with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we'll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we'll keep your name out of it, of course). Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister's Financial Post column can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won't want to miss. Plus check his mortgage rate page for Canada's lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily. Visit the Financial Post's YouTube channel for interviews with Canada's leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more. Today's Posthaste was written by Pamela Heaven with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg. Have a story idea, pitch, embargoed report, or a suggestion for this newsletter? Email us at posthaste@ Canada home prices are heading into correction territory Just when you thought Toronto's condo market couldn't get any worse … Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
9-Year-Old Girl Nearly Loses Hand in Shark Attack
A nine-year-old girl is recovering from a frightening shark attack that nearly cost her one of her hands. Leah Lendel was on vacation with her family in Florida Wednesday when she was attacked by a shark off the coast of Boca Grande. Lendel's family told Gulf Coast News the young girl went underwater to snorkel and came up screaming. Her mother Nadia, who was in the water a few feet away, noticed her daughter was covered in blood and her right hand was partially severed. She screamed for help, and rushed her two toddlers that she was holding to safety, while she and her husband made their way to shore for help. Leah was reportedly able to walk to shore under her own power, where she was helped by bystanders eventually treated by medical personnel. The young girl was airlifted to a hospital in Tampa where she underwent surgery to repair her hand. "They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand. Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues. They will be monitoring her here for a week. But thank God she can move her fingers," Nadia said. Max Derinskiy, Leah's uncle, has started a GoFundMe to help with medical costs and other expenses. So far, it has raised over $25,000 toward an $80,000 goal. "While we are beyond grateful that Leah survived, the journey ahead will be long and full of physical and emotional healing," the GoFundMe says. "The Life Flight alone comes with an overwhelming medical bill, not to mention the ongoing care she will need: possible surgeries, physical therapy, counseling, and more." Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser said in a video statement on social media that there's "always the potential for some kind of interaction with wildlife" in the water, but these "occurrences are limited." "I don't think it's a cause for alarm at this point, and we'll just continue to monitor the waters and the situation," Blosser added. 9-Year-Old Girl Nearly Loses Hand in Shark Attack first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 12, 2025
