A shark bit a boy in Florida's Cocoa Beach Sunday morning, "significantly" injuring the 9-year-old as he played with his mother in the waist deep area of the ocean, according to CNN.

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Reports say the shark attack near Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, estimated to be 60 miles east of Orlando, occurred just before 11 a.m. Sunday.

The name of the boy was not released, but NBC News reported that his right calf is the area that the shark had bitten.

As soon as they saw the boy struggle, lifeguards rescued the boy and carried him ashore. They offered emergency care upon realizing that a shark had bit him, according to Ocean Rescue Assistant Chief Eisen Witcher of Brevard County, Florida.

After emergency care was provided, the 9-year-old had been taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital, a trauma hospital in Orlando, via airlift because of the injury's severity, said Witcher.

"It was definitely one of the worst ones that we've seen in our area that we've responded to, mainly because of the size of the bite," he said.

The boy's condition remains unknown. He added that the shark that bit the boy, though still unidentified, could have been a juvenile bull shark. According to swimmers in the area, they saw small bull sharks in the area at the time of attack. The shark was described to be at least 5 feet long.

Due to the shark attack, authorities closed the beach to prevent further shark bites, according to Brevard County spokesman Don Walker.

Ocean Rescue Assistant Chief said there have been 10 shark bites just this year which officials have responded to.

Florida is no stranger to shark encounters. In 2014 alone, there have been a recorded 28 bites, making Florida the leading state in the U.S. when it comes to shark attacks, according to the Sarasota Patch.

There have been other shark attacks in the east coast in recent months too. In late May, the foot of a 14-year-old girl was bitten on Cocoa Beach as well. Another attack was of a 19-year-old woman also bitten on the foot at New Smyrna beach.

Recently, a 60-year-old man was rushed to the hospital after a shark attack in 2 feet of water on Florida's Gulf Coast. For more info on Florida's sharks, click here.

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