Shark Repeatedly Bites Woman While Swimming In Hawaii

A woman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital Tuesday after she was bitten by a shark while swimming in Hawaii.

Reports suggested that the 27-year-old female was bitten by a shark twice while swimming in Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island's western side.

Hawaii Fire Department Battalion Chief William Bergin said that the shark bit the woman in one leg, as well as her torso, leaving her with wounds in her lower back and right hip area.

Bergin added that she was “about 50 yards from the shore.”

Preliminary information that was provided to the authorities listed the woman to be 26 years old, although they chose not to reveal her name. The woman was deemed to be in “good health” and was scheduled to be released after she was brought to the hospital, another source said.

Bergin admitted that the shark was still in the area and were trying to get the people out of the water after the attack. Prior to his statement, the chief said that he didn't know if the victim was a tourist or a local resident of Hawaii.

Witnesses said that the woman was attacked by a shark with a gray tip. It was later ruled that it could possibly be a 6-foot black-tip reef shark.

Shark warning signs were put up on both sides of the Kealakekua Bay State Historic Park and will remain closed until noon Wednesday.

Bergin also quoted local fishermen when they said that there are a lot of fish this time of year “so it does attract a lot of sharks and dolphins birthing.”

The high surf also makes it hard for people to spot if there are sharks nearby, he added.

The black-tip reef shark attack was the ninth encounter tallied by state officials this year. In May, a 65-year old man died while he was swimming in Hawaii.

Witness Allison Keller said that the man was unconscious when rescuers pulled him to shore and was missing a leg.

Keller also saw blood on the man's stomach and that the skin on his wrist “was just torn off.”

“And then I got looking closer and is entire left leg from the knee down was just missing.”

A surfer was also attacked by a shark but unfortunately survived the attack, although the animal bit a portion of his surfboard.

Three shark attacks were reported last year and five in 2017. The last known fatal shark attack in Maui was in 2015 when 51-year-old Patrick Briney of Washington State was bitten by a shark, leaving his foot “dangling in the water.”