Man, 27, attacked by shark and evacuated off boat near the Irish coast

A man who was bitten ‘to the bone’ by a shark in the Irish Sea said he wasn’t sure he was going to make it out alive.

The alarm was raised in the waters off Ireland’s County Waterford on Tuesday afternoon after reports that a shark had mauled a man.

The man,who has since been named as angler Sebastian Achim,27,revealed how the animal managed to bite him in the calf of the deck of their boat after being hauled on board.

He was part of a five-strong crew of the small vessel,which was in the waters around four miles off Ram Head,Ardmore,on the southeast coast of Ireland.

Sebastian Achim was airlifted to the hospital in Ireland after the incident involving a blue shark

Achim told The Irish Times about the unusual incident,which sparked a sea rescue: ‘I thought,‘I’m not going to make it’. I was trying to stay strong to not scare the other crew.’

Sign up for all of the latest stories

Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.The shark species is said to have been a blue shark,which is a common visitor in the UK and Ireland during the summer and autumn.Blue sharks can grow to more than 9 ft,while the shark caught by the men measured around 4 feet 9 inches.The near-threatened species is often found in deeper offshore waters where it hunts smaller fish,squid and sometimes seabirds. Blue sharks are not considered dangerous to swimmers.Achim,a keen angler who lives in Dungarvan,said how the crew were preparing to release the fish back into the sea when the shark ‘lunged at him.’He said: ‘He managed to bite into my calf,and the bone,and ripped a part of the calf and he took it with him. I started bleeding instantly.’Ireland’s Department of Transport confirmed that a man had suffered a leg injury from a suspected shark bite.Achim was winched onto the Irish Coast Guard helicopter and was airlifted to Cork University Hospital.He credited the Coast Guard helicopter for helping him following first aid to stem the blood flow with a rope.‘It’s probably the reason why I’m still okay,’ he said.Ireland’s Department of Transport spokesperson said: ‘At approximately 4.15pm yesterday [Tuesday],the Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Dublin were alerted by a 999/112 call to an incident on board a small fishing vessel south of Ardmore.‘The report was that a male on board the fishing vessel had a leg injury inflicted by a bite from a shark.’RNLI Ballycotton’s all-weather lifeboat,The Austin Lidbury,was also launched to assist with the rescue operation.Shark-related injuries have happened in Ireland before.In 2018,an angler was bitten by a blue shark while lifting it on board a vessel.Earlier this month,a Jersey beach was closed after lifeguards encountered a large animal in the water believed to have been a 12 ft shark.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.