Boy Bitten By Shark While Snorkeling In FL Keys On Labor Day Recovering After Surgery: Reports

KEY LARGO, FL — An 8-year-old boy is recovering after being bitten by a shark while snorkeling Monday afternoon off Key Largo, reports said.

The Pinecrest boy, Richard Burrows, was snorkeling with his 48-year-old father off Horseshoe Reef at the time of the attack, just before 3:30 p.m., Local 10 reported.

The family was spearfishing near a Horizon Divers crew, which helped get them to a nearby marina, where they met members of Key Largo Fire Rescue.

The boy’s 10-year-old sister applied pressure to the bite using a makeshift tourniquet, reports said.

“The sister of the patient was actually holding his leg — helping control the bleeding when we got onboard,” firefighter Travis Wilson told Local 10.

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"Richard’s 10-year-old sister, Rose, was instrumental in her brother’s rescue and both of her parents are immensely proud of the strength of character and composure she demonstrated under pressure," the family said in a statement provided to ABC News.

The child was airlifted as a trauma patient to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.

A surgeon was able to save the boy’s leg, according to the Miami Herald.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were notified of the incident, the sheriff’s office said.