WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Officials in Hawaii are warning swimmers after a shark bit a man swimming off the coast of the Big Island.
Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources put up signs and issued a warning after a shark bit a man in his mid-60s who was out swimming on Tuesday morning. Officials said he was attacked by a 12-foot tiger shark.
The Hawaii Island Police Department said in a news release describing the incident, “the swimmer attempted to fend off the shark with a diving knife and the shark released the swimmer.”
The swimmer, described as a native of Waikoloa, was approximately 400 yards offshore at Anaehoomalu Bay on the Big Island when the shark bit his lower left torso, according to The Associated Press.
“The shark got a good chunk of his left side of his back rear … and he kinda went on and … tried to get rid of the shark a little bit, and got his fingers cut up razor-like cuts on his fingers,” Anthony Singh, a witness, told KITV.
The swimmer was taken to an island hospital and was reported to be in stable condition, the AP reported. His injuries are not considered to be life-threatening.
“The guy said he couldn’t really feel anything because he was in shock,” Singh told KITV.
Hawaii’s DLNR said this is the second shark interaction in the last week. A woman from Washington State disappeared after her husband and witnesses reported she was attacked by a shark Dec. 8, and extensive searches failed to find her.
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