Shark attacks man, 46, in San Diego water as eyewitnesses recall horrifying moment swimmer punched animal: 'There was a lot of blood'

Two hero lifeguards have recalled the horrifying moment a swimmer was attacked by a shark off the California coast before they rushed to save him.

The swimmer, a 46-year-old man identified as Caleb, was seriously injured in the attack at Del Mar City Beach in Del Mar, around 20 miles north of San Diego. 

A bloodthirsty shark bit his torso, left arm and hand in the frenzied attack just before 8am on Sunday, just as beach lifeguards were setting up for the day around 100 yards away. 

'We didn't know the extent of the injuries but there was definitely a lot of blood in the water,' lifeguard Kevin Barrett told ABC7. 

A swimmer was seriously injured in a shark attack on the Southern California coast Sunday, prompting temporary beach closures, authorities said

Along with his colleague Cameron Whiting, Barrett sprang into action to rescue the swimmer. 

'We heard some screaming. You could tell it was serious from the tone of the screams,' Barrett recalled. 

'You have to realize that you're swimming into an active shark attack and it's scary,' he added. 

'But there's not really an alternative, and he's one of our own and we've got to bring him in.' 

Whiting said the swimmer punched the shark in the face in retaliation. 

Two hero lifeguards have recalled the horrifying moment a swimmer was attacked by a shark off the California coast over the weekend before they rushed to save him

The swimmer, a 46-year-old man identified as Caleb, was seriously injured in the attack at Del Mar City Beach in Del Mar, around 20 miles north of San Diego

'When he punched it, he caught the shark on the tooth, so he had a pretty big gash in his hand, that was bleeding profusely as well,' Whiting told ABC7. 

'We started pulling him in,' Barrett added. 'A surfer came over and gave us his board, and so we put him on the board and I jumped on top of him and started paddling in.'

'There as actually an ER doctor who happened to be walking by on the beach as well,' Whiting said. 

'He helped out too. I think all the stars were aligning to help Caleb through this.' 

Caleb was described by officials as an ocean swimmer who regularly trains at the beach. He was treated in hospital for significant but not life-threatening injuries.

Chief Lifeguard and Community Services Director Jonathan Edelbrock said Caleb had been swimming with roughly a dozen other people when he was attacked.  

Caleb was described by officials as an ocean swimmer who regularly trains at the Del Mar beach (pictured) 

No one had spotted the shark when the attack happened, Edelbrock said. 

The city also deployed a drone and a boat to look for the shark afterwards with no success.

'The water visibility was really poor,' he said. 'You just can´t see anything that´s moving through the water column at all. 

'The exact moment of the incident was really the only interaction with, or sighting of, the shark.'

Authorities said the beach will remain closed for surfers and swimmers until Tuesday morning. 

It's not known what kind of shark was involved, but Caleb's wetsuit has been taken to a laboratory for testing to find out.