Brit, 26, recalls moment she thought she was going to die after horrifying shark attack

A holidaymaker was made to book an emergency flight home after she was bitten by a shark in the Caribbean.

Rachel Smith, 26, had travelled to the popular tourist destination of Montego Bay in Jamaica with her sister, Lisa, when the animal caught her left hand with its jaws.

She was paddling in the water at a hip height just off Rose Hall beach when she was involved in a shark attack that left her ring finger hanging off her hand, with blood pouring from the wound.

Rachel was horrified after the accident as Lisa helped her to safety after seeing the metre-long shark swim away.

She also warned other travellers at the beach who were also paddling in the shallow waters before loading Rachel into an ambulance so she could be taken to the hospital.

Sisters Lisa and Rachel go on holiday together every year (SWNS)

Medics revealed that she needed plastic surgery, but they had no surgeon free for two weeks. The pair then booked a flight back to Cork, Ireland, where their parents live, to receive emergency surgery.

Medical professionals confirmed that the tendons and nerves in her ring and little ringers were ruptured, while the ligaments in her ring finger were disconnected.

Following the procedure, Rachel hopes to have full movement in her hand within just 18 months, with the sisters admitting that they have been dealing with nightmares since the attack on 8 May.

"There was so much blood coming out I honestly thought I was going to die," Rachel admitted, saying she 'was in complete shock' as she thought her hand had been bitten off.

The shark bit Rachel's fingers and left one hanging (SWNS)

She added: "I feel grateful to be alive and so grateful to have my hand. I have a long road of recovery ahead but I have a positive attitude and I believe I will get through it."

Lisa explained that they were 'terrified' and initially believed that her fingers were gone completely, gruesomely recalling: "At one point a vein burst and sprayed blood all over both of us. We were just crying and thinking she was going to die."

The sisters go on holiday together every year and first arrived at the hotel in Jamaica on 5 May, with two weeks of holiday booked.

But just three days in, she was attacked at about 10am, when the shark also knocked them both backwards with its body.

Rachel hopes to have full movement in her fingers and hands in 18 months' time (SWNS)

They claimed that the flag on the beach indicated that it was safe to swim, while doctors said the bite was likely to belong to a reef shark.

While a local private hospital quoted them $2,000 to have the wounds stitched and a further $25,000 for the surgery, they were transferred to a public hospital before jetting home.

The sisters said the ambulance and taxi travel between hospitals there, as well as getting a 'fit to fly' certificate, totalled around $500.

Rachel claimed that the private hospital was 'only concerned' with the payment despite her thinking she 'would die'.

Lisa remembered Rachel being in the safe swimming area at the beach when she was bitten by a rope, noting: "There were two young kids swimming by the rope, it's lucky it wasn't them.

"I'm just so glad and grateful that she's alive."