Shark Attacks Instagram Model as She Poses for a Photo

The 19-year-old says the incident has not turned her off to posing with sharks again.

The 19-year-old model who was recently attacked by a shark in the Bahamas while posing for a photo says she would do it again. 

Katarina Zarutskie, of Laguna Beach, California, is a nursing student and aspiring model. She was on vacation with her boyfriend and his family in the Bahamas when she posed with sharks for her Instagram page.

Suddenly, a five-foot nurse shark sunk its teeth into her arm and dragged her underwater.

“It was a very scary experience," she told Inside Edition. "I was pulled underwater for eight seconds."

After a frightening struggle, she was able to free herself, but was left with a gash and teeth marks on her arm.

She had to get stitches and antibiotics for her injuries and according to reports, she still has fragments of teeth in the wound. 

It happened on Staniel Cay Island, which is famous for clear blue water and usually docile nurse sharks. A sign by the water, however, cautions tourists that nurse sharks can and do bite.

Despite the warning, visitors often swim with the sharks and Katarina was excited to take the plunge herself.

She hopes her modeling career will not be affected by her injury, and she has not ruled out posing with sharks again. 

"You know I would," she said. "I wouldn’t lean back like that, but I would go stand in the water."

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