Miami-Dade Fire Rescue rushed a 9-year-old boy to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, July 28, completing a multi-agency rescue that began roughly 50 nautical miles away in Bimini, one of the closest Bahamas islands to South Florida.

The boy, a U.S. citizen, was collecting sand outside a business in Bimini around 10 a.m. when several dogs set upon him, biting his face, right thigh, right arm and head, according to the Miami Herald, citing a Royal Bahamas Police Force statement. A bystander chased the dogs away, and the child made it back to the apartment where he and his mother were staying.

Paramedics took him to the Bimini Community Clinic, where doctors determined his injuries were serious. The Royal Bahamas Police Force described the wounds as potentially life-threatening.

The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft crew from Air Station Miami. By noon, roughly two hours after the attack, the crew had landed the boy in Opa-Locka. MDFR then transported him by ambulance to Ryder Trauma Center, the only Level I trauma center in Miami-Dade County verified by the American College of Surgeons.

Jackson Memorial Hospital serves as the designated receiving facility for medevac transports from the Caribbean, making it the standard destination for international emergency evacuations to South Florida.

The Coast Guard's Southeast District posted video of the rescue on Facebook. OS2 Christian Delgado, a Southeast District Command Center watchstander, credited the coordination between the command center watch team and the Air Station Miami crew for getting the patient to a higher level of care quickly.

The boy's condition had not been released as of Wednesday, July 29.

Investigation ongoing

Royal Bahamas Police said officers located the dogs' owner, who is assisting in efforts to secure and remove the animals. The investigation remains open.

Bimini is a popular crossing for Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove boating families who make the trip by powerboat or seaplane. Residents traveling in the Bahamas who encounter an emergency can contact the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16.