7News, Getty Images
- Jackson Bartlett, 10, was bitten by a shark three times in Western Australia.
- He was airlifted to a Perth hospital where he underwent surgery, MailOnline reported.
- Barlett said that he thought he was going to die after the shark mauled him, he told The West Australian.
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A 10-year-old boy was mauled by a shark while snorkeling with his dad in Western Australia, The Sun reported.
Jackson Bartlett was airlifted to Perth's Children Hospital after being bitten three times by a seven-foot bronze whale shark on Friday, MailOnline said.
He's now recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery, the media outlet reported.
Speaking from his hospital bed, he told The West Australian about the horrifying experience. "I thought I was going to die because it was really scary," Bartlett said.
Bartlett, originally from Sydney, had been on a nine-month road trip around Australia when the shark attack happened.
He was in the sea with his father when he thought he saw a dugong, also known as a sea cow, floating in the water.
The creature turned out to be a large shark and it lunged at him twice before attaching itself to his right foot, Bartlett told The West Australian.
"I caught up to dad, and I said 'shark,' and then he was looking at it, and then I showed him my big sore," the boy said. "I said 'it bit me' and then dad was yelling 'help.'"
Bartlett's dad had to fend off the bronze whaler with his speargun to ensure the shark didn't attack his son again, reported The West Australian.
He was pulled out of the water by a local tour guide and treated by paramedics before being airlifted to the hospital, MailOnline reported.
The ordeal, however, hasn't destroyed Bartlett's love of marine life. "'I still like sharks, but I just don't want to swim too close to big ones like that," Bartlett told Australia's 7News.