Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #596

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Shark Attack Victim Punched It In The Face Before He Was Rescued, Friend Says
Patrick
Smith and Liz Kreutz
A man who survived being bitten multiple times by a
shark while he was swimming at a popu- lar California beach Sunday punched the predator on the nose before quick-thinking fellow swimmers res- cued him, an eyewit- ness has said.
The 46-year-old man was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in
La
Jolla with bites to his left hand, his left arm and his torso around 9 a.m. Sunday,
the city of Del Mar, north of San Diego, said in a statement.
The injuries were serious but not life- threatening, the state- ment said. Nearly the entire stretch of beach was closed after the attack.
The victim is part of a seasoned ocean
swim-
ming group that trains weekly. One of the group's members, Jenna Veal, who was right behind the man in the water during the attack, told NBC's "TODAY" show Monday that she heard him scream for help.
“He punched it in the face. He punched it in the nose,” she said. “I do know he had a gash on his hand from a shark’s tooth.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjEC-zPSfwo
The swimmers quick- ly began to take the man back to shore, where a passing emergency depart- ment doctor stopped to help.
"There is a massive all-hands-on-deck movement of support today," Veal said. The man remained con- scious throughout, she said, and is expected to be OK.
Pictures shared by Veal show the man, still in his swimming cap, lying in a stretcher and being tended to by para- medics while con- cerned swimmers look on.
Another eyewitness told “TODAY,” "When we saw the guy, like, swim back it was really shocking."
Jon Edelbrock, the city's lifeguard chief, told "TODAY" that one of the swimmers was equipped with a tourniquet, although it's not clear whether it was used.
The attack closed
beaches within a mile, shocking many seasoned local beachgoers. "I have never seen a shark sign or have known of an incident to occur right here," one told "TODAY."
The risk of unpro- voked shark bites worldwide remains extremely low.
Experts say the best way for swimmers to reduce their risk is to always stay in groups. Use extra caution in areas near sandbars and steep dropoffs and avoid being in the water during dark or twilight hours.
Unprovoked shark attacks are rare: There were just 36 in the U.S. last year, including two in California, one of them fatal, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File said.
The beach will remain closed until at least Tuesday.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine