Two swimmers survived being bitten by sharks this week at South Carolina’s most popular beach.
Both people were attacked in Myrtle Beach on Monday, one of whom suffered a serious injury to his forearm and the second a more superficial bite to his leg, police told news outlets.
The attacks occurred in the ocean about a half-mile (1km) away and police said there is no way of knowing if they are related.
Pittsburgh’s Karen Sites needed hundreds of stitches. She told WPDE-TV that she was in waist-deep water on her first day of vacation with her 8-year-old grandson when she was bitten on the arm.
“I just felt like something, I guess, bit me and there was a shark on my arm,” Sites said.
Brian Sites said he heard his grandmother scream. “I couldn’t even see the shark getting close, but all I saw was the shark jumped out and didn’t even bite at all,” he said.
After seeing his grandmother get bitten, Brian Sites said he is changing his vacation plans.
“I’ll sit on the sand, but I’m not going to go in the water,” he said.
Shark attacks on humans are extremely rare. While millions of people enjoyed the water, only 47 shark bites were reported on US beaches in 2021, according to the International Shark Attack File maintained by the University of Florida.
Last year, four shark attacks were reported in South Carolina. Florida led the nation with 28, the group said.
Several shark attacks off Long Island, New York, last month, including two within two hours, raised concerns as authorities said the number of bites could represent a “new normal.” Shark sightings appear to be increasing, possibly as a result of climate change and improved conservation efforts.
Earlier this summer, a Florida teenager had her leg amputated after she was bitten twice by a shark while harvesting scallops.
Precautions swimmers can take include avoiding going into the ocean at dawn or dusk when sharks come ashore to feed, leaving the water when schools of fish can be seen near the waves, and staying away from places where sharks people may be using bait to fish, experts said.
[Con información de The Associated Press]
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