HONOLULU, Oct. 29 (UPI) — A young surfer was seriously injured in a shark attack off the coast of Makaha, Hawaii, the seventh shark incident in the state this year.
The boy, 10, was bodyboarding with his uncle Wednesday afternoon when he was bitten.
“He kind of got bumped up about 50, 60 yards off the beach … we paddled over to him, looked down his leg and saw some significant gashes. The kid was calm and coherent the whole time, but it was a significant bite to his leg. Looked at his thigh and his thigh was open,” said Kelly Krohne, a witness and off-duty lifeguard.
An emergency medical services spokeswoman said the unidentified victim sustained serious injuries to his right leg, including puncture wounds indicating a shark bite.
The type of shark was not immediately known.
The incident occurred in Hawaii’s Honolulu County on the island of Oahu. Shark warnings were immediately posted at beaches across the area, urging people stay out of the water.
An hour before the incident, a confirmed shark sighting was noted at nearby Keeau Beach.
In April, a woman, 65, was killed by a shark while snorkeling in Maui’s Ahihi Bay, and earlier this month a man, 25, lost his leg and several fingers in an attack at Oahu’s Leftovers Beach.
Shark sightings in Hawaii increase at the end of the year, but seven attacks in a year is regarded as an extraordinary figure.
