Swimmer Gouges Out Tiger Shark's Eye to Survive Attack

A man from Hawaii, when face-to-face with certain death, in the form of a shark, managed to claw his way out by gouging out the fish's eye. Tony Lee in 2015, was swimming off Hawaii's Lanikai beach, in southeastern Oahu, when a Tiger Shark suddenly attacked him, Newsweek reported.

During the attack, the shark got both of Lee's legs in his mouth and attempted to pull the man into the water repeatedly, Newsweek reported. Lee tried to punch the shark, but his blows did nothing to deter the beast. Eventually, he decided to pull the shark's eye out and attempt to escape.

"I had goggles on, so I could see everything really clearly, and I kept thinking that if I just punched him enough he would let me go," Lee shared, Newsweek reported. "He pulled me down one last time, so I just reached out and put my finger in his eye and I just pulled out his eyeball. And so then he let go.… I got to the surface, I was holding his eyeball, and then, you know, let it go, treading water."

Lee managed to get away from the shark and was rescued by a father-son duo who was kayaking in the area, ABC7 reported. "I could feel the blood leaving my body, and there was a big trail. And the kayakers told me they saw a big blood slick going back," said Lee. "I really thought I was dead there. I mean the guy was paddling as hard as he could but we were pretty far from shore."

They rushed Lee to the hospital for further care, Newsweek reported. As per the physicians, a few more minutes in the water could have proved fatal for Lee.

The father-son duo were identified as Julian Liverton and Charlie Liverton, ABC7 reported. They went to help Lee after hearing his screams in the water.

Lee was grateful to the father-son duo for their life-saving measures, Newsweek reported. "They really, they really saved my life," he said. The man lost a leg in the accident and the doctors had to perform surgery on the other one to save it.