Editor's note: Please note the mitigating circumstances. "The shark was hooked by a fisherman roughly..." How would you like to be roughly hooked? Can you blame the shark for being enraged? Perhaps he was just playing with the swimmer. ...and wasn't Manhattan Beach the home of that nursery school scandal...where bodies were supposed to be buried in the play yard and they only dug up chicken bones...? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Great white shark attacks swimmer in L.A.
A 7 foot great white shark bit a swimmer off the coast near Manhattan Beach in Southern California on Saturday, leaving the man with moderate injuries, a fire department official said.
The shark bit the long-distance swimmer in the upper torso and immediately released him, said Inspector Rick Flores, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which provides lifeguard services in the area.
The man was taken to a local hospital and was breathing and alert with a moderate wound, Flores said.
Lifeguards barred swimmers from entering the water for a mile-long stretch around where the attack occurred, and watched the shark until it swam further out into the ocean, he said.
The shark was "hooked" by a fisherman roughly 40 minutes before the attack, fire officials said in a tweet.
Witness Aram Ozen said he was surfing near the pier when a man swimming with a group was attacked about 50 or 60 feet from shore.
At first, Ozen said, people thought the victim was having trouble swimming and then he suddenly heard a couple of people screaming, “White, white!” referring to a great white shark.
“It was a scary scream,” Ozen said. "It was kind of freaky. There was a lot people screaming back to shore.”
Manhattan Beach Police Lt. Ryan Small said local police and firefighters aided Los Angeles County lifeguards with an "ocean rescue" Saturday morning and said one man was taken to a hospital.
Small would not confirm that the man was bitten by a shark or comment on the extent of his injuries. A representative for theGreat white shark attacks swimmer in L.A.which oversees the lifeguard program, was not immediately available for further comment.
Ozen said other surfers started paddling out to help the victim back to shore as officials cleared everyone out of the water.
“I saw blood on his right rib,” he said. “He was a little bit in shock."
The attack follows a series of shark sightings in the area. Last month a great white shark was spotted swimming ominously close to paddleboarders in Manhattan Beach.
A great white shark was also spotted chasing a sea lion along LeadBetter Beach in Santa Barbara, prompting a beach closure.
The shark bit the long-distance swimmer in the upper torso and immediately released him, said Inspector Rick Flores, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which provides lifeguard services in the area.
The man was taken to a local hospital and was breathing and alert with a moderate wound, Flores said.
Lifeguards barred swimmers from entering the water for a mile-long stretch around where the attack occurred, and watched the shark until it swam further out into the ocean, he said.
The shark was "hooked" by a fisherman roughly 40 minutes before the attack, fire officials said in a tweet.
Witness Aram Ozen said he was surfing near the pier when a man swimming with a group was attacked about 50 or 60 feet from shore.
At first, Ozen said, people thought the victim was having trouble swimming and then he suddenly heard a couple of people screaming, “White, white!” referring to a great white shark.
“It was a scary scream,” Ozen said. "It was kind of freaky. There was a lot people screaming back to shore.”
Manhattan Beach Police Lt. Ryan Small said local police and firefighters aided Los Angeles County lifeguards with an "ocean rescue" Saturday morning and said one man was taken to a hospital.
Small would not confirm that the man was bitten by a shark or comment on the extent of his injuries. A representative for theGreat white shark attacks swimmer in L.A.which oversees the lifeguard program, was not immediately available for further comment.
Ozen said other surfers started paddling out to help the victim back to shore as officials cleared everyone out of the water.
“I saw blood on his right rib,” he said. “He was a little bit in shock."
The attack follows a series of shark sightings in the area. Last month a great white shark was spotted swimming ominously close to paddleboarders in Manhattan Beach.
A great white shark was also spotted chasing a sea lion along LeadBetter Beach in Santa Barbara, prompting a beach closure.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for commenting.
Your comment will be held for approval by the blog owner.