Thursday, August 30, 2007

INJURED -- 28 August 2007 -- Ka'a'awa, Oahu, Hawaii -- bodysurfer attacked

A 15-year-old boy (name not released) was bitten on the foot while bodysurfing at Ka'a'awa, Oahu, Hawaii on Tuesday 28 August 2007.

The boy says it was a 12 foot Tiger shark that bit him.

According to a report in the Honolulu Advertiser the boy was 400 metres offshore when he felt something "slice" at his foot before seeing his foot in the mouth of a shark. The boy kicked the shark with his other foot and it swam away. He suffered only minor lacerations to his foot.

The boy was treated for injuries at a nearby fire station before his parents took him to Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center for further examination.

No other details were reported at the time of this blog.

Source:
Honolulu Advertiser

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

INJURED -- 28 August 2007 -- Marina State Beach, Monterey Bay, California, USA -- surfer attacked


Todd Endris, 24, was attacked by a shark while surfing at Marina State Beach, Monterey Bay, California, USA. He suffered bite wounds to his torso and right thigh. The incident took place around 10.30am on Tuesday, 28 August 2007.

He was surfing with around six others surfers at a local beach break when the attack happened.
One of the surfers in the water at the time, Joe Jansen, told the Mercury News he first heard a scream and immediately saw a pod of dolphins swim by and a huge splash. Then he saw the Great White shark on top of Endris, pulling him under water.

Endris resurfaced seconds later, blood "gushing" from gashes in his back. Jansen then pulled the 24-year-old San Jose native back onto Endris' surfboard and towed him toward the shore.

"He must have been in shock because he said he didn't feel any pain," Jansen told the newspaper. "He was talking to us, answering questions."

Other reports describe Todd punching the shark to make it release its grip. Some witness reports say the shark pulled him underwater, let him go and then bit him again when he resurfaced.

Witness reports about size of the shark vary. They all say it was a Great White, but some say it was 20 foot, some say 15 foot and Marine biologist Robert Lea says it was probably between 12 and 13 foot – nonetheless a large shark.

Reports say surfers pulled him to shore and administered first aid with the surfboard leash as tourniquet and towels to stem the bleeding until an ambulance arrived.

One witness reports Endris riding a wave back to the beach with “the white water behind him all red”.

Endris was taken by ambulance to the Marina Municipal Airport and was airlifted to Valley Medical Center in San Jose, where he underwent surgery and was reported in a stable condition.

Sources:
Mercury News

PIC Source:
Mercury News

Monday, August 27, 2007

INJURED – 25 August 2007 – Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States – surfer attacked


Joe Coursey was bitten on his left hand while surfing near the Jetties at Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States. The incident happened on Satuday morning 26 August 2007.

Coursey’s daughter, Sarah Coursey, told media: “He said it didn’t hurt. It happened so quickly. He just looked down and there was a shark on his hand.”

Sarah Coursey was with her father in the water when he was attacked. She said her father managed to bandage his own hand and flag down help before she knew what happened.

Joe Coursey had surgery to lacerations on his hand at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

Initial reports said the man attacked claimed the shark was 6 foot long.

Sources:
WFTV



PIC source:

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

INJURED – 19 August 2007 – Islamorada, Florida Keys, United States – swimmer attacked

In a few sketchy media reports -- Chris Olstad, 52, was reported bitten on the side of his torso by a shark while swimming his regular swimming route from Founders Park (Islamorada, Florida Keys, United States) to a sail boat about a half a mile offshore. Olstad was swimming at night around 9.15pm and on his way back when the shark bit him. He suffered extensive wounds to the side of his torso.

The incident took place on Sunday night 19 August 2007.

He managed to get back to shore and walked 100 metres to a county sheriff’s department, passing out three times along the way and sustaining cuts and bruises to his head. From the sheriff’s department substation he was taken by ambulance to nearby Mariner's Hospital and later airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

Olstad later told the Miami Herald he believed it was a shark.

''I felt a bump and a shake and felt the head of an animal,'' he said.

He said when he got back to shore, no one was a around. As he walked along the beach toward the sheriff's Islamorada substation, located at the entrance to Founder's Park, he passed out three times.

Sgt. Tom Kiffney, who spoke with Olstad at Mariner's Hospital, said the man's wounds were extensive, from under his arm to his waist, with a large chunk of his flesh missing.

Olstad said he’d been swimming there for eight years. “This is a pretty rare event,” he said.

Sources:

Miami Herald

Orlando Sentinel

Local10

Monday, August 20, 2007

INJURED – 19 August 2007 – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States – swimmer attacked

A 7-year-old boy (name not released) was bitten in the leg by a shark while swimming just south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US on Sunday, 19 August 2007.

The boy was playing in waist-deep water when the shark attacked him.

Bystanders stemmed the bleeding before medics arrived. He underwent emergency surgery to his calf at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center. The injury was not life-threatening and the boy suffered no tissue loss according to media reports.

No other details were reported.

Source:
WRAL.com

Sunday, August 19, 2007

INJURED – 15 August 2007 – Sarasota Bay, Florida, United States – swimmer attacked


Andrea Lynch, 20, was attacked by what is presumed a 6 foot bull shark while floating on her back in the sea during a boat trip in Sarasota Bay, Florida, US. The incident took place on Wednesday night 15 August 2007.

Lynch was bitten on the side of her torso. She said the shark bit her, shook her and let go. She received 17 puncture wounds requiring more than 100 stitches.

Lynch and three friends had rowed out in an inflatable boat to a larger boat anchored 200 metres offshore. They wanted to swim in the bioluminescence which was glowing that night. Lynch and a friend jumped into the water.

One friend was swimming with Lynch when she screamed, and two were standing in the boat. When she pulled herself out of the water, the friends planned to go back to shore. But in the chaos, the inflatable dinghy floated away. Nobody wanted to jump back in the water to bring it back. They had no way back to shore.

"It was like a horror movie," Lynch said.

"I got on the boat and my friend was like, 'Do I need to call 911?'", she told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper.

"I reached back with my hand and felt all these gashes on me, and there was blood running down my body and pooling in the boat," she added.

Her friends staunched the bleeding by pressing shirts against the wounds.

They called 911 and 20 minutes later a rescue boat picked them up. Lynch was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

Doctors said the shark's teeth got close to her lungs during the attack, but missed all major organs.

Sources:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
BBC News

PIC source:
Metro UK

Thursday, August 16, 2007

INJURED -- 14 August 2007 -- Florida Keys, United States -- swimmer attacked

Ashley Silverman, 19, suffered severe lacerations to her right arm after being attacked by a shark soon after she jumped from a boat into waters off the Florida Keys, US. The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon, 14 August 2007.

In an interview with CBS4 she explained she was in the water when suddenly she felt a tug on her right arm. "I didn't see it. I didn't know what happened. I didn't know if I had gotten hit from a propeller or a boat or what it was." She said she saw blood in the water. "I saw my bone and pieces of flesh in the water."

Her boyfriend jumped in the water and pulled her out.

She was originally taken to Mariner's Hospital and then airlifted to Kendall hospital, where she underwent surgery to close an eight-inch gash on her right arm.

The doctor who performed the surgery said the wound may have been caused by a bull shark.

Sources:
UPI
CBS4