Man suffers serious leg injury in shark attack in Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (KTRK) -- The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a crew member from a fishing vessel after a shark attack about 35 miles southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana on Friday.

The Coast Guard sector in New Orleans received a call at about 12:51 a.m. from personnel aboard the Moon Glow vessel.

According to personnel, a 64-year-old crew member sustained a severe leg injury from the attack. The man was reportedly untangling fishing nets from the vessel's propeller when he fell overboard and was attacked.

It was unknown what species the shark was.

Luckily, crew members were able to apply a tourniquet to the man's partially amputated leg and called for help. That's when a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew arrived to the scene and a rescue swimmer was able to apply a new tourniquet to the man's leg.

The man was taken to University Medical Center New Orleans in critical condition.