VIDEO: Shark Mauls Florida Naval Base Employee in Horrific Attack

A shark attacked an employee of a naval base in Panama City, Florida, on Monday while he was snorkeling during his lunch break.

The attack occurred around noon, when the civilian employee of the Naval Warfare Center was with a colleague at the Naval Support Activity Panama City marina, NBC Miami reported Wednesday.

Cellphone video showed the victim in the water as the shark attacked him. He is heard screaming “Help!” as what appeared to be the shark’s fin went back and forth in the water:

Officials said the man’s arms were severely injured before bystanders rescued him. According to the NBC article, a 911 operator with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office asked a caller if the man’s arm was severed.

“It’s there, but it’s not,” the caller said.

In a statement, Cmdr. Tristan Oliveria said, “First and foremost, our prayers and thoughts go out to the family, and we want to send our appreciation to the first responders who rendered initial aid and made sure that the victim was properly and expeditiously taken to HCA Gulf Coast Hospital,” per NBC News.

The man is in critical condition and recovering after surgery, reports say. Oliveria said officials were unable to determine what species of shark attacked him.

In light of the recent incident and another at Pensacola Beach involving a fisherman, NOAA Research Fish Biologist John Carlson said:

Obviously the two are unrelated because, unfortunately, the attack on the navy staff member was what we call an unprovoked attack, but the first was handling a shark trying to take it off the line; it’s a different set of circumstances, so the shark, of course, is going to try to defend itself when it’s being taken off the hook.

He also said such attacks are uncommon but also warned about the possible dangers.

“If you’re swimming in an area where somebody’s fishing, it’s generally not a good idea because you know the person that’s fishing on the beach or from a pier may not necessarily be fishing for sharks,” he said, “but if they’re catching a fish, that struggling fish in the water may bring a shark into the area.”