Pakala – painting by Angela Headley
A 60-year-old man named only as Lorrin suffered minor injuries after being bitten on the left foot by a shark while surfing at Pakala’s on the west coast of Kauai, Hawaii. He estimated the shark to be around 10 feet.
The victim was taken to the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital.
No other details were reported.
Sources:
Hawaii News Now
PIC Source:
Angela Headley
Kai Rittgers recovers in hospital following a shark bite on his left foot.
Kai Rittgers, 14, suffered minor lacerations to his left foot after being bitten by a small shark while surfing off Melbourne Beach in Brevard County, Florida, USA. The incident happened 19 November 2012.
“It was like this sharp little pain, then I kind of sat up really quick and saw it was a shark,” Kai was quoted as saying.
He managed to paddle to shore. His dad took him to a doctor who bandaged the wounds. No stitches were needed.
No other details were reported.
Source:
Florida Newsday
PIC Source:
Florida Newsday
Scott Stevens’ board showing the chunk bitten out of it by a shark. Stevens suffered lacerations to his left torso.
Scott Stevens, 25, suffered serious wounds to his left torso from a shark bite while he was surfing at North Jetty, Humboldt, Eureka, California, United States. The shark is thought to be a great white.
The incident occured on Tuesday 30 October 2012.
He said he was catching waves about 150 metres from fellow surfers at Bunkers, a popular surf spot near Humboldt Bay.
The shark dragged him under the water and shook him around a bit. Stevens then punched the shark several times in the head, which made it release its grip and swim away. He managed to retrieve his board and paddle back to shore, where other surfers helped stem the bleeding and wave down a truck which took him to hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to stitch the wounds.
Stevens told the Lost Coast Outpost in a podcast interview:
“I went in the water for a surf about 10am. I had just caught a wave and was paddling back out when the shark came out of nowhere. It grabbed my torso from behind and dragged me underwater and shook me a couple of times.
“I opened my eyes underwater and saw the shark grabbing onto me. I punched it a couple of times in the head and it released me and swam off.
“I recovered my board (the shark had severed the leash) and managed to paddle to shore on my own.”
Scott Stevens shows where he was bitten by a shark.
He was shouting for help.
“The support of other surfers was amazing. They waved down a truck which took me to hospital. And they put pressure on the wound the whole time to stop bleeding.” One of the surfers actually lay across his torso to put pressure on the wound and stem the bleeding.
He told the Times Standard that when he opened his eyes under water he saw a lot of blood.
“When I reached the beach, I realised how injured I was and how much blood I was losing.”
“I was in shock. I really didn’t feel much, didn’t feel too much pain, until I woke up this morning,” he said.
He said from the time of attack to ER it took about 20 minutes – “An amazing response which helped a lot.”
”Those guys are heroes,” he said.
He said he received lacerations from the top of hip to his upper chest. The surgeon who stitched up the wounds said there were seven to eight deep lacerations, but fortunately the shark did not open the chest cavity and damage any internal organs.
“At the moment it happened I was truly scared for my life. I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not.
“Now I am a little bummed that my surfboard is damaged,” he said from his hospital bed at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California.
Sources:
Lost Coast Outpost – podcast interview
Times Standard
Digital Journal
PIC Source:
Times Standard
Businesswire
Francisco Javier Solario’s board – with the shark bite mark.
Vandenberg Air Force Base security forces block the entrance to Surf Beach at Vandenberg Air Force Base following a fatal shark attack on a surfer at the beach on 23 October 2012.
Francisco Javier Solorio Jr., 39, was killed by a shark while surfing at Surf Beach, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, California, about 240km north of Los Angeles.
He was bitten on his upper torso.
According to press reports a fellow surfer pulled him to shore and tried to resuscitate him, but when paramedics arrived on the scene they pronounced him dead.
The beach is located near Vandenberg Air Force Base, the site of a fatal shark attack in 2010.
The type of shark involved and other details were not immediately available.
UPDATE:
The shark is believed to be a 15-16 foot great white.
Sources:
CBC News
BBC News
ABC News
Huff Post
PIC source:
A 52-year-old surfer (not identified) was bitten by a shark on the feet while surfing off Cocoa Beach,Florida, USA.
A very brief report says the incident happened about 4 pm on Sunday 16 September 2012. It added he suffered lacerations on both feet but managed to get to shore.
No other details were reported.
Sources:
Paramedics treat Andrew Birchall foot after he was bitten by a shark while surfing at St Augustine Beach, Florida, US.
Andrew Birchall (age not reported) was bitten on the foot by a shark while surfing at E Street in St. Augustine Beach, Florida, USA. The incident happened around 11.30am on Thursday 6 September 2012.
Birchall told the press he had just “caught a good wave” and jumped in the water when the shark bit his foot. He was in shallow water and managed to rip his foot from the shark’s mouth. Surfers nearby helped him to shore.
“There was blood everywhere,” he said.
Paramedics took him to Flagler Hospital, where he underwent several hours of surgery to repair some torn tendons.
Surgeons found a shark tooth in the wound.
Birchall said he did not see the shark. It was not known what species it was.
Sources:
The St Augustine Record
PIC Source:
The St Augustine Record
Jon Hines, 34, was attacked repeatedly by a shark while surfing at Red Bluff Point near Quobba Station in Western Australia. He fought off the shark but suffered serious wounds to his abdomen and right arm. The attack happened around 3.25pm on Tuesday 28 August 2012.
He was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital and was reported in a stable condition following surgery.
Witnesses told the press he fought off the attack after the initial bite to his abdomen and suffered serious wounds to his right arm in the process.
“There was a big swell . . . plenty of my mates were around there, they said it was pretty brutal,” one of the witnesses said.
“A couple of them helped drag him in . . . they heard him screaming for help and they thought he just hurt himself badly in a wipe-out.
“From what I hear he had to fight it off and it came back and had another go and that’s when it got him on the arm.
One of the surfers helped Hines get to shore.
“He just told the guy to hang on to his leg rope and he just paddled him straight in,
“He did a really good job . . . he is legend of the ocean, he just did what he had to do and he did it well.
“He saved his life I guess, all the people out there – all the girls and boys out there – helped save him.”
It was not reported what type of shark it was although it was reported that tiger sharks are known to frequent the area.
Another witness said the water was full of blood.
“He was conscious the whole way back though, he was OK. He was in good spirits, as well as he could be.”
Sources
Perth Now
St Leu surf point break on Reunion. A surfer had his hand and foot severed by a shark while surfing here on 5 August 2012.
A 40-year-old surfer referred to only as Fabien by linfo was attacked by a shark while surfing at St Leu point break on the west coast of Reunion island in the Indian Ocean. According to the report the shark severed (sectionnés) his foot and hand. Whether they were completely severed is not clear. The incident happened around 5.15pm local time on Saturday 5 August 2012. It is the first recorded shark attack at St Leu.
He managed to get away from the shark and other surfers nearby helped him to the shore. He was helped by a doctor who was on the beach at the time and then taken to Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-Pierre where he had emergency surgery to treat his wounds.
No other details were reported.
This is the second attack in Reunion waters in 2 weeks (the attack on 23 July 2012 at Trois Bassins was fatal) and has sparked a debate on the island about hunting sharks. St Leu is in a marine reserve.
Sources:
Linfo
The Australian
PIC Source:
FlowersWay
Trois-Bassins surf spot on Reunion – the scene of a fatal shark attack on a surfer on Monday 23 July 2012.
Reports with few details say Alexandre Rassica, 22, a resident of La Reunion, died from his wounds after a shark bit through his leg while he was surfing at popular surf spot Trois-Bassins, on Reunion island.
According to media other surfers managed to bring him to shore but were unable to resuscitate him after he suffered a cardiac arrest.
He was surfing 100 metres offshore when the attack took place on Monday morning 23 July 2012.
No other details were reported.
Sources:
Reuters
Transworld Surf
PIC source:
Magic Seaweed
“By the time I got out there half of him had been taken and the shark was circling.”
Ben Linden was killed by a shark while surfing off Wedge Island in Western Australia
Ben Linden, 24, died from his wounds after being attacked by a shark while surfing about 4 km south of Wedge Island, north of Lancelin, Western Australia. The incident happened around 9am on 14 July 2012.
Linden was reportedly with a friend when the attack happened. The attack is believed to be by a great white shark.
A Fisheries Department spokesperson was quoted as saying:
“The two people were in the water surfing or waiting for a wave when the victim was attacked by a shark.”
He said two other surfers, one on a jet ski and the other being towed came over to help when they saw a commotion in the water.
He said the man’s friend and the others surfers were not in a position to help and went back to shore and contacted the police.
He said Linden’s body was not recovered.
The guy on the jetski was quoted as saying:
“I was towing my mate on the back of the jetski and in front of us I just saw a guy get attacked by a shark and I just took my mate straight to the shore and went straight out and there was just blood everywhere and a massive, massive white shark circling the body.
“By the time I got out there half of him had been taken and the shark was circling.
“I tried to lean off the side and pull him on the back, but as I did that, the shark came back and nudged the jet ski to try to knock me off.
“When I came back the second time, he took the rest of him. I just thought about his family and if he had kids. I just wanted to get him to shore. I gave it everything I had.”
Sources:
Illawarra Mercury
Daily Telegraph
PIC Source:
Daily Telegraph
# Sri Lanka Beach House #
No shark attacks here. Good surf. The Beach House is a gorgeous self-catering holiday rental on the pristine Hikkaduwa beach on the tropical south coast of Sri Lanka. Sleeps six. $850-$1100 a week.
