Swimmer Suffers Critical Injuries After 12-Foot Shark Bites, Grabs 'Good Chunk Out Of Him'

A 68-year-old man in Hawaii has been hospitalized with critical injuries after a 12-foot shark bit him while swimming on a beach.

The unidentified man, from Waikoloa, was attacked by the shark while he was swimming off Anaehoomalu Bay on Tuesday morning. The shark bit him on the lower left hand and torso and got a "good chunk out of" his lower side, witnesses said, reported WBRC.

The swimmer was around 70 yards off the shore when the shark attacked him. He tried to fend off the animal with a diving knife and eventually succeeded in escaping from its grip. He was pulled out of the water by paddleboarders. They said he was coherent and responsive at the time.

The man was rushed to Queens North Hawaii Community Hospital with serious injuries. He is reportedly in stable condition and is expected to be transported to Oahu for further treatment.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses described the attack as brutal.

"It was hectic. It was brutal," Anthony Singh, who was at the beach, told the outlet. "Guess it's just wrong place, wrong time. Our friend was just out there yesterday," another person, identified as Anna Kathryn Sengupta, said.

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) posted shark warning signs at Anaehoomalu Bay. The beach remained closed Tuesday after the encounter. Officials believe the man was attacked by a 12-foot tiger shark.

Anyone with information on the incident can contact Officer Ansel Robinson at (808) 887-3080.

"This is the second shark/human encounter in the past week in Hawai'i. Last Thursday a 60-year-old Washington State woman disappeared after her husband and witnesses reported she was attacked by a shark. An extensive search of the area around Keawakapu Point in South Maui failed to find the woman," Hawaii DLNR said in a news release Tuesday.

The 60-year-old woman was snorkeling with her husband at Kihei in Hawaii's South Maui Coast when she reportedly suffered a shark bite. Her husband called 911 after realizing that his wife was missing, reports said.