Police say a woman was bitten twice while swimming in Hawaii. The 27-year-old woman was swimming off of Napoopoo Park in Kealakekua Bay on Tuesday morning when she was bitten by a shark with a grey tip.
The woman suffered injuries in her lower back and right hip area and was taken to Kona Community Hospital.
Although officials didn’t release the woman’s name, they say she is in “good health” and should be released soon.
The area where the shark attack occurred will remain closed to the public until at least noon on Wednesday.
According to USA Today, shark warning signs have been posted on both sides of Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park.
Chief William Bergin of the Hawaii Fire Department tells the Associated Press that the woman was an estimated 50 yards away from the shore when she was attacked.
“The shark is still in the area, so we’re trying to get people out of the water at this time,” says Bergin.
Bergin says the shark is most like a 6-foot black-tip reef shark. He went on to say, “According to local fishermen, this time of year there’s a lot of fish in the area, so it does attract a lot of sharks and dolphins birthing.”
The high turf also makes it quite difficult to spot sharks in the water.
This has been the ninth shark encounter this year reported by state officials. In May, a 65-year-old Californian man died after he was bitten by a shark off a Maui beach park.
In 2018 there were 66 cases of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide as reported by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.
Tyler Bowling, Shark Attack File Program Manager says there are currently 40 unprovoked shark attacks so far this year worldwide.
