Surfer describes how he survived shark attack off coast of Hawaii
Mike Morita said he's lucky to be alive after the attack off the Honolulu coast.
A surfer in Hawaii is speaking out from his hospital bed after surviving a battle with what witnesses described as an approximately 7-foot-long tiger shark.
Mike Morita, 58, said he was out for a morning surf near Kewalo Basin off the coast of Honolulu on Sunday when he crossed paths with the shark.
"I was lying on my board, and then the shark grabbed onto my leg," Morita told "Good Morning America." "And I could just feel the strength and power of it."
Morita, a 40-year surfing veteran, said his instincts immediately kicked in, and he began to fight the shark.
"The shark pulled me under twice," he said. "There was a point when the tail came by me, and because the punching didn't work, I kind of under-hooked the shark's body with my leg and my arm. At that time, when I hit the gills, the shark let go."
Morita said once he fought off the shark, his fellow surfers stepped into help save his life.
"I could look at my leg and I saw how bad it was. So I told my friends, I said, 'Hey you gotta tie a tourniquet on me,'" Morita recalled. "Three of my friends that were in the water with me, they tied a tourniquet and brought me to shore."
Morita said the medical personnel who responded told him that were it not for the quick thinking of his friends, he likely would have "bled out" before he got to shore.
"Thank God for my friends, who saved my life," Morita said.
The father of two lost his right foot in the attack, and remains hospitalized as he continues to recover. A GoFundMe started by his son and daughter has already raised over $62,000 for his medical care.
Morita's son Kamu told "GMA" that he is thankful for the medical team taking care of his dad, as well as his dad's friends who helped save his life.
"They kept my dad alive," said Kamu Morita. "And I'm grateful that I have my best friend on the side of me."
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