Hawaii: Lifeguards rescue woman apparently bitten by shark at beach
The Honolulu Emergency Services Department says lifeguards on Wednesday paddled out on rescue boards and brought the woman to shore.
Lifeguards say they have a rescued a woman, after what appeared to be a shark, bit her arm and shoulder at a popular Hawaii surfing beach. An expert will examine the woman’s wounds to confirm that it’s a shark bite.
The Honolulu Emergency Services Department says lifeguards on Wednesday paddled out on rescue boards and brought the woman to shore. Surfers in the water helped. The woman was about 300 yards from shore at Makaha Beach. The woman was taken in serious condition to a trauma center.
Officials say she frequents the Oahu beach regularly. No information was available on the type of shark.
Lifeguards have posted shark warning signs and cleared the water. Officials will reassess Thursday morning whether to reopen the beach.
The incident was the second on Wednesday. In the first incident an Australian man died after a large shark attacked him while he was kitesurfing in New Caledonia, a French island territory in the South Pacific, marine authorities said Wednesday.
The 50-year-old man had fallen from his board Tuesday in a large lagoon near the northwestern town of Koumac when the shark bit deep into his right thigh, said Nicolas Renaud, the director of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center.
