Man survives five bites in horrific shark attack after being saved by dolphins

A man says dolphins saved his life after he was attacked by a shark.

Martin Richardson was swimming in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt when a mako shark lurking close by set upon him.

The deadly predator then bit five huge chunks out of him, his blood gushing out and turning the water a deep red.

With little hope of anyone coming to his rescue, Martin says he accepted his fate and was waiting for the shark to finally kill him.

Speaking in a new National Geographic documentary Saved from a Shark, he said: "There was no reason for the shark to stop.

"I had lost approximately 5 pints (2.8L) of blood. You only have 8 to 9 [pints] (4.5-5L) in your body.

ITV

“I was waiting for a feeding frenzy… I knew it was circling me… I turned away and looked at the mountains. I gave up."

However it was right then that something unbelievable occurred, and was the reason Martin was able to live to tell the tale.

As he lay floating in the water, expecting to die, a pod of dolphins suddenly appeared out of nowhere and the shark scarpered.

A rescue boat was then able to get to him, pulling him on board and taking him to hospital, where he received hundreds of stitches.

"I firmly believe the dolphins saved my life," he told the documentary .

WaterFrame / Alamy Stock Photo

But did the dolphins come to rescue Martin or were there other motivations at play?

According to one expert, the creatures may have in fact simply been protecting themselves.

Mike Heithaus, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida International University, told the show: "The dolphins see a big cloud of blood, they know a shark is in the area."

Heithaus then said if the creatures had young, they might have suspected the shark was looking to attack their babies and go on the offensive.

"They may not have been trying to save Martin," he explained.

Saved from a Shark will premiere on National Geographic, Disney+, and Hulu on 2 July.

This comes after a man was attacked and killed by a shark just off an Egyptian tourist resort earlier this month.

The Russian citizen was tragically killed in the shark attack which took place at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada on 8 June, with footage of the fatal attack shared on social media.