A teenager from Aspen was severely injured in a shark attack while scuba diving in Belize on Tuesday.

Annabelle Carlson, 15, had just finished scuba diving with a tour group and her family while on vacation in Belize when she decided to jump back into the water for a quick swim near the Lighthouse Reef atoll, according to a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend.

“The moment she hit the water, a 6-foot-long reef shark attacked her,” the Carlson family wrote in a statement on GoFundMe. “She fought bravely for a few moments and with the help of the other divers and crew on the boat, we were able to get her back onboard.”

Other divers on board began providing emergency medical care and the group reached an island coast guard outpost an hour later, the Carlson family said. Annabelle was airlifted to Belize HealthCare Partners in Belize City for initial surgeries on her legs and hands. Once she was stable, she was again airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Anabelle underwent another surgery on her hands in Miami and is recovering in pediatric intensive care, according to the family statement. She is scheduled to have at least one more procedure on her leg.

“You all should know that Annabelle has continued to be strong throughout her ordeal but she really misses her friends and will have a long road to get used to her new self,” the Carlson family wrote in a statement. “Her attitude remains positive and her top priority is getting back to playing lacrosse again as soon as she can!”

Carlson is a rising sophomore at Aspen High School and plays both lacrosse and basketball on the school’s junior varsity teams.

The tour group operators with Belize Dive Pro and the Belize Coast Guard did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

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Originally Published: August 10, 2024 at 5:39 p.m.