The first reported shark attack at Rockway Beach since 1953…
Yesterday afternoon a woman was bitten by a shark while swimming at a New York beach. The attack led to a gruesome leg injury, and the woman is now in critical condition.
Lifeguards spotted the woman screaming for help in the water, leading them to jump into action. Once they could pull the woman to shore, they could see the massive bite the shark took from her leg.
While they were waiting for first responders to get to the scene, a tourniquet was applied to aid in blood loss.
“It’s definitely a shark bite.”
Dr. Gavin Naylor, the Program Director at the Florida Program for Shark Research, told The New York Post.
“Looks as though it was a fairly clean single bite with some force. You can see the spacing between the teeth.”
Naylor also noted the amount of flesh that was removed from the victim led him to believe it was a shark versus another large fish species.
“Twenty pounds is a lot of flesh… there’s no bony fish that does that.”
The city Parks Department closed the beach today to let the waters clear themselves and avoid another potential attack. They issued a statement reminding beachgoers that shark attacks are extremely rare, and they are continuously monitoring the beach.
“We hope for a full recovery for this swimmer. Though this was a frightening event, we want to remind New Yorkers that shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare.
We remain vigilant in monitoring the beach and always clear the water when a shark is spotted.”
Our thoughts are with the victim hoping for a full recovery.
