Two Teens Lose Limbs in North Carolina Shark Attacks
OAK ISLAND, N.C., June 15 (UPI) — A 13-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy were seriously injured Sunday in separate shark attacks off the coast of Oak Island, N.C.
In a Facebook post, Oak Island Mayor Betty Wallace said the teenage girl lost part of her left arm in the first attack, which occurred around 4:15 p.m., Sunday. Wallace said the girl could still lose her left leg.
A 16-year-old boy lost his arm in the second attack, which took place around 5:30 p.m.
A witness told WNCN that a shark took the boy’s arm “clean off.”
Oak Island officials evacuated the beach and sent a helicopter to search the ocean. Beaches will reopen Monday, though authorities said beachgoers should stay out of the water until they “get a better handle on the situation.”
It is unclear whether the two teens were attacked by the same shark.
Sunday’s attacks come just days after a 13-year-old girl was bitten by a shark while boogie-boarding off the coast of Ocean Isle Beach, just 30 minutes drive from Oak Island.
